TAQA UK has awarded a major contract for the decommissioning of its Brae Alpha platform topsides in the Central North Sea.
TAQA has awarded the work to leading offshore contractor, Allseas, following a competitive tender exercise. The award marks another major step in the execution of one of the UK’s largest decommissioning programmes.
The engineering, preparation, removal and disposal contract (also known as EPRD) for Brae Alpha will start later this year. Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit, the world’s largest heavy-lift vessel, will carry out the removal of the 33,000-tonne topside and12,000 tonne upper jacket in two separate campaigns.
Sandy Hutchison, Managing Director of TAQA UK, said: “This milestone reinforces TAQA’s position as a leader in safe, efficient late-life asset management and decommissioning. It represents a major project for a platform that has played a significant role in the UK’s energy security over four decades.’’
Allseas is also undertaking the EPRD decommissioning programme for all four of TAQA UK’s Northern North Sea assets including North Cormorant, Tern, Eider and Cormorant Alpha, in what remains the largest single offshore decommissioning contract awarded in the UK to date.
Allseas’ President, Pieter Heerema, says: “We are proud to continue working with TAQA on this next phase of their decommissioning journey, which will see the Brae Alpha topsides removed by Allseas’ single-lift capability.”
TAQA has committed to reusing or recycling at least 95% of recovered topsides material.
Brae Alpha began production in 1983 and is located approximately 170 miles north-east of Aberdeen. It has produced over 636 million barrels of oil equivalent during its lifetime.
TAQA has become one of the UK’s most active decommissioning operators. In 2024, it successfully reached cessation of production on four Northern North Sea platforms and in 2025 it ceased production at East Brae in the Central North Sea. Brae Alpha represents the next milestone in the transition to a post-production phase.