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Lerwick Harbour is to be the location of a further decommissioning project following the award of another major North Sea contract to international partnership, Veolia/Peterson, to dismantle and recycle a northern North Sea platform jacket.

It follows their winning the contract to decommission the 14,500-tonne topside for the same platform, the biggest to date at the port’s Dales Voe Base and recently successfully completed on time, with Veolia/Peterson achieving their target of more than 98% materials recycled.

The latest project has been awarded by Allseas, a leading international contractor. The 83-metres high steel jacket, weighing around 8,500 tonnes will also be delivered by Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit, the largest and most sophisticated construction vessel in the world in April.

Preparation is well underway at the site for receipt of the jacket. Like the topside, it will be removed in a single lift and transferred ashore at the base via a barge. A heavy-duty purpose-built decommissioning pad will again be used. Decommissioning of the jacket is expected to take around eight months to complete.

Commenting on the latest decommissioning project, John Abraham, Chief Operating Officer - Veolia UK & Ireland - Industrial, Water & Energy said: "Industry leading recycling involves innovation and scrupulous planning, and with our major complex decommissioning projects we have already shown that it is possible to achieve a 98% recycling rate for obsolete oil and gas structures, a key achievement as we look to preserve resources and drive our ecological transformation.

"Decommissioning is also very important from a carbon perspective as recycling a tonne of steel saves 1.5 tonnes of iron ore and reduces CO2 emissions by 80%, compared to metal production from raw materials."

James Johnson, Decommissioning Manager at Peterson, commented: “We are delighted to continue to support the decommissioning of North Sea infrastructure and thank Allseas for choosing Peterson and Veolia to complete onshore disposal.

“We believe this award demonstrates the strong track record of Peterson and Veolia in handling all types of offshore decommissioning projects, as well as the excellent capability of the Dales Voe Base. It is also recognition of the excellent work undertaken in the decommissioning of the Ninian Northern topside, where an industry first approach to decommissioning an offshore asset proved very successful. We are very pleased that the award will also help secure a number of Peterson roles on Shetland on an ongoing basis.”

Port Authority Chief Executive, Captain Calum Grains, said: "This award is another accolade for Veolia/Peterson and of significance to Lerwick and Shetland with associated economic and employment benefits.

"Great news during the recovery from the CV19 pandemic, it is a further boost to the port's reputation as a leader in decommissioning ever-larger structures. It adds emphasis to advancing plans for an Ultra-Deep-Water Quay at Dales Voe to transform UK decommissioning capability and in servicing renewable energy. High level talks with Government and industry continue to progress."

The eight-legged platform, a drilling and production facility, was installed in 1978 and in production in 1980. Output ceased in 2017.

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