DeepOcean Wraps Up Decom Scope at Spirit Energy’s North Sea Field
DeepOcean has completed subsea decommissioning work at Spirit Energy's Seven Seas and Grove West fields in the southern North Sea, recovering a subsea wellhead protection structure and disconnecting subsea infrastructure ahead of a planned rig campaign.
DeepOcean carried out engineering and project management from its Aberdeen operations and deployed the construction vessel Edda Freya to recover the remaining wellhead protection structure at the Seven Seas field, which weighed more than 100 tonnes, along with associated subsea infrastructure.
The recovered materials have been transported for reuse, recycling or responsible disposal, the company said.
The work forms part of Spirit Energy's wider decommissioning program for the Seven Seas and Grove West fields, with both scopes completed in preparation for a rig campaign.
At the Grove West field, DeepOcean disconnected a spool from a subsea Christmas tree using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and proprietary tooling developed in-house, eliminating the need for diver intervention.
The Seven Seas field is located about 80 km off the East Yorkshire coast in water depths of around 33 meters, while Grove West lies about 130 km east of the UK coastline in water depths of around 40 meters.
“The wellhead protection structure at Seven Seas has served the field since 2011 and remains in very good shape. The piles were cut three meters below the seabed and the subsequent retrieval of the structure was conducted. We were delighted to support Spirit Energy on this project and look forward to working with Spirit Energy on future scopes of work,” said Robin Mawhinney, Executive Vice President for DeepOcean’s EMEA region.
“We are committed to maximizing material recovery and minimizing waste throughout our decommissioning activities. By working closely with specialist contractors such as DeepOcean and leveraging the UK supply chain, we have safely recycled more than 95% of materials from decommissioned assets and infrastructure. This approach not only reduces environmental impact but also improves efficiency through streamlined logistics and the responsible reuse of valuable resources,” added Ceri Wheaton, Spirit Energy's Decommissioning Manager.