Shell taps AF Gruppen for Curlew FPSO decom job

AF Gruppen has been awarded a contract by Shell for dismantling and recycling of the Curlew floating, production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO), which operated in the UK North Sea.

AF Gruppen said on Thursday that its contract with Shell includes engineering, preparation, dismantling, and recycling.

Shell got a green light from the UK authorities for its decommissioning plan of the Curlew field facilities in the UK North Sea back in March 2019.

Decommissioning activities are being done in phases.

Phase 1 included the Curlew FPSO removal, which means flushing of pipelines and facilities, disconnection of all lines from subsea trees, disconnection of the risers and mooring lines at the FPSO allowing sail-away.

Later phases of the program include plug & abandonment of wells and removal of subsea infrastructure.

The Curlew FPSO arrived into the Port of Dundee in the UK for a cleaning job in June 2019.

Augean North Sea Services was put in charge of providing specialized industrial cleaning and waste management services to the FPSO to ensure environmental compliance before the vessel is dismantled and recycled.

Following the cleaning job, the FPSO is expected to arrive at AF Environmental Base Vats in 3Q 2020.

It is expected to complete latest within 2024.