The Signal film team have completed a series of four films for DeepOcean and TotalEnergies.
Their team were tasked with telling part of the story of the decommissioning campaign, for the disconnection and tow of the TotalEnergies Gryphon Alpha FPSO, as well as the removal of associated subsea infrastructure.
Gryphon Alpha was the North Sea’s first purpose built, permanently moored FPSO, and was originally commissioned by operator Kerr McGee. The asset was later acquired by Maersk Oil and then by TotalEnergies. The field exceeded expectations, producing more than 250 million barrels of oil equivalent over three decades of operation.
The crew travelled to Aberdeen and Norway to join the vessel, then sailed over 200 miles northeast of Aberdeen to the field. The Gryphon project involved flushing, isolating, and controlled disconnection of mooring lines and production and gas lift lines spread across the site. In addition, new pressure-retaining blind flanges were installed at critical points throughout the field.
Traditionally, this type of work would require a Dive Support Vessel and a team of saturation divers. However, in a demonstration of innovation and efficiency, DeepOcean utilised a vessel equipped with advanced Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to complete the operation safely and effectively, without the use of divers.
Signal helped convey the engineering intricacy of the project, illustrating how DeepOcean’s robust knowledge and experience directly contributed to its successful completion.
From pre-mobilisation in Aberdeen and Norway to the offshore campaign, the crew filmed on deck, in control rooms, with ROV pilots, and conducted interviews with key contributors. They captured bespoke technology in action, problem-solving by the teams, technical challenges, and collaboration between the UK and Norway.
