Wintershall Noordzee launches 18-month North Sea decommissioning programme

Wintershall Noordzee, a joint venture between Wintershall Dea and Gazprom EP International, has started a decommissioning campaign in the southern North Sea.

The first part, which should take around 18 months to complete, involves P&A of 24 wells in Dutch and German waters and the removal of two platforms and two subsea installations.

Main contractor Swift Drilling has modified the previously stacked jack-up Swift 10 for the programme. It will first head to the P9 location in the Dutch sector to close off and abandon two subsea wells, thereafter continuing to the next wells until all 24 wells have been securely P&A’d.

In addition, Wintershall Noordzee will remove the Q4-A and B production platforms, in addition to the two P9 subsea installations. These activities should start in spring of 2022, with the entire first campaign set to be completed by 4Q 2022.

Since the late 1980s, the company has P&A’d 58 wells and decommissioned/removed 16 production platforms, with seven of the topsides subsequently re-used at new locations in the southern North Sea.

The P14-A topsides has already been recycled twice. It became the topsides of the D12-B platform in 2019.

Source: Offshore Magazine