Wireline Magazine Autumn 2020 Issue 49

“We think that we’ve got the well decommissioning process now optimised as much as we can, so the next big leap forward for us will be technology.”

over the summer of 2020. All used the same vessel — the record-breaking Pioneering Spirit — and similar lift setups, meaning significant reductions in preparation, transport time, and therefore cost. For Alpha’s jacket, Shell U.K. turned to Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) and another record- breaking vessel, Sleipnir. In addition to being the world’s largest crane vessel, it is also the first of its type with dual-fuel capabilities, running entirely on LNG for the 3 week campaign to help lower emissions. Equipped with two 10,000-tonne revolving cranes, Sleipnir allowed the team to lift the 10,000-tonne Alpha jacket vertically, with the well conductors still inside, saving a considerable amount of time offshore — “the first time this has been done on that scale,” according to William. Shell U.K.’s onshore partners worked equally hard to maintain their 2020 schedules. With the Bravo platform still being dismantled, Able UK upped the pace to make room for the incoming Alpha topsides – any delays here would have affected the lift schedule throughout the rest of the project. According to William, this was

Allseas' lift vessel, Pioneering Spirit, removes the Alpha topsides from the Brent field.

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