One of Europe’s largest demolition and dismantling companies has committed to the UK offshore decommissioning sector by entering a new partnership based at the Dales Voe site at Lerwick Harbour.
Brown & Mason, which has been operating for more than 60 years in the heavy industrial sector, has partnered with Peterson Energy Logistics to attract large-scale decommissioning projects to the island.
Shetland is ideally located to decommission the hundreds of offshore oil assets in the UKCS North and Central North Sea region which will reach end of life in the coming decades, and has an experienced and ready local supply chain, sheltered deep water access, and heavy-duty quayside infrastructure.
Richard Brown, UK Operations Director at Brown & Mason, said: “We are confident in the scale of opportunity and Dales Voe being the ideal location to launch our diversification into the offshore sector. As leaders in heavy industrial dismantling, and trusted partners of the energy sector, we are excited to bring our significant expertise to support this market.
“We are committed to working with the local supply chain, alongside our in-house experts and established partner Peterson Energy Logistics.”
Dales Voe has one of the strongest quaysides in the UK, engineered to accommodate significant loads of up to 60 tonnes per metre squared, with a knife-edge linkspan loads of 800 tonnes per metre. This makes it ‘single lift’ ready and has previously accommodated topside and jacket projects.
The largest heavy lift vessel in the world, the Pioneering Spirit, has offloaded materials directly to the quayside at Dales Voe – something that is not possible elsewhere in the UK. There have also been skidded barge load-ins from its Iron Lady barge, which is only possible due to the depth capabilities of 12.5m and the geography of the site.
Lerwick Harbour’s Dales Voe Base is strategically located in the North Sea, with natural deep-water access and has one of the strongest quaysides in the UK for large-scale decommissioning projects. Photo credit: © Alexander Simpson, Lerwick Port Authority.
Captain Calum Grains, Chief Executive of Lerwick Port Authority, added: “In Lerwick, we have the capabilities and capacity to service the decommissioning industry. We are strategically located with the right assets and people to make this an incredibly efficient option for hundreds of offshore assets.
“Our track record handling these significant large-scale projects at Dales Voe includes the world’s largest construction vessel Pioneering Spirit first delivering the 14,200 tonnes Ninian Northern platform topsides, returning in April 2022 with the field’s 8500 tonne steel support jacket. Then returning for a third visit in 2024 to offload a cargo of materials direct to quayside for another North Sea project, which cannot be done elsewhere in the UK.”
Brown & Mason is in the process of the applying to take over the SEPA site operating permit and is actively pursuing projects that will utilise Lerwick Harbour. The company is working alongside Peterson Energy Logistics which has operated in Shetland for more than 20 years and has been heavily involved in decommissioning projects during that time.
Peterson employs around 75 people in Shetland across a range of shorebase, lifting, and technical services, with an extensive track record of managing and executing large and complex projects. This has included the logistics and load-in and out of new build and decommissioning assets, requiring complex logistical planning and engineering. Peterson has managed decommissioning materials across a range of sizes, weights, and sectors from subsea assets to larger Northern North Sea topside and jackets as single lifts.
Alongside its engineering and logistics capabilities, Peterson operates plant, equipment, and infrastructure critical to the success of large projects including mobile and harbour cranes, axle lines of self-propelled modular transporters, and large laydown areas.
Andrew Ellis, Commercial Director at Peterson Energy Logistics, said: “Decommissioning is an important opportunity for the island’s economy, and we are pleased to be working in partnership with Brown & Mason to offer operators expert, trusted, and innovative solutions to complex requirements.
“We're proud to be part of a strong local supply chain which has proven itself time and time again in terms of delivering services for the largest structures and projects for the energy industry. We are ready to welcome more large-scale projects to Dales Voe with Brown & Mason.”
Lerwick Harbour’s strategic location in the North Sea, with natural deep-water, creates solutions for large scale decommissioning projects and is perfectly poised to service the energy sector’s requirements. The port’s extensive facilities include over 4,500 metres of quays, including deep water berthing to 12.5m c.d., unique heavy-duty line loading at the quaysides, and substantial quayside working areas, open storage and laydown capacity.
Dales Voe was identified in a government-commissioned, nationwide feasibility study as the optimal location for the UK’s ultra deepwater decommissioning facility which will facilitate direct offload from semi-submersible crane vessels and further enhance the UK’s competitiveness against overseas yards.
As well as decommissioning, the site is also available to support development projects in the oil and gas, offshore wind, and other sectors.