Page 13 - EurOil Week 33 2021

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NEWS IN BRIEF
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umbilical, covers and associated hardware. The project shall be delivered by an
integrated expert team from the JV partners. DOF Subsea shall deploy Skandi Acergy from its fleet, and Aker Solutions shall use its disposal site at Stord for recycling.
Engineering will start immediately, and offshore execution is planned in Q1 2022, but with a possibility for an earlier start in Q4 2021.
DOF SUBSEA, August 16, 2021
TAQA Group completes
topside removal of
Brae Bravo in one of
the North Sea’s largest
decommissioning projects
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), one of the largest listed integrated utility companies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, today announced it has completed the topside removal of the Brae Bravo platform.
This marked the completion of two successful ground-breaking campaigns with HAF, the Heerema Marine Contractor and AF Offshore Decom (AFOD) consortium contracted to complete the Brae Bravo removal and disposal scopes.
The topside removal was completed by two of the world’s largest semi-submersible crane vessels, Thialf and Sleipnir. At its peak, up to 500 people worked on the project totalling nearly 400,000 man-hours without any major incidents recorded.
Campaign 1, executed from the Thialf, prepared the platform for removal and removed the cranes and helideck. During these activities, Sleipnir simultaneously completed the removal of the Brae Bravo
flare tower, bridge and jacket marking the
first time these two semi-submersible crane vessels converged in the North Sea. Campaign 2 saw the return of the Sleipnir to remove the remaining modules and transport them to the dismantling yard.
The 36,000-ton structure was sent to the AFOD Environmental Base in Vats, Norway, and is now being processed with the aim
of reusing or recycling 95% or more of the material.
Commenting on this significant
milestone, Donald Taylor, TAQA Managing Director for Europe, said: “The Brae Bravo decommissioning project is a landmark moment for both TAQA and the North
Sea offshore industry. The scale of this engineering feat cannot be overstated. Despite
the challenges faced by the on and offshore team of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was completed on schedule and without any major incidents recorded – highlighting our commitment to health and safety.
“Decommissioning and late-life management of offshore assets will play a major role in our journey to a lower carbon future, and Brae Bravo will be the blueprint for all future TAQA decommissioning programmes in the North Sea.”
Over its 33-year lifetime, Brae Bravo produced more than 500 million barrels of oil equivalent and is widely recognised within industry as an iconic asset in the pioneering Brae fields.
The only remaining visible element of Brae Bravo is the top of the jacket above the sea surface. A dedicated navigational aid has been installed on the remaining structure and a 500-meter safety zone will remain in place until the jacket is decommissioned in 2022. TAQA GROUP, August 13, 2021
ENERGY TRANSITION
UKEF backs landmark
GBP430mn green transition
loan for Wood
The first ever government-backed green transition loan has been awarded to engineering and consultancy firm Wood to seize new clean growth export opportunities, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss has announced today.
With less than three months before the UN climate change conference, COP26 in
Glasgow, the UK continues to align its free trade agenda behind green exports to speed up the country’s transition away from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy sources, which
is expected to deliver up to £170 billion of export sales in goods and services for the UK by 2030.
Firms operating in the UK’s industrial heartlands, like Aberdeen-headquartered Wood, will be backed by government to drive forward this transition, whilst supporting thousands of green jobs.
This GBP430mn commercial loan will
be supported by an 80% UKEF Transition Export Development Guarantee (Transition EDG) and will give Wood the financial resources to enhance its clean growth plans by: accelerating the speed at which Wood can organically grow its business by investing in future low carbon growth areas linked
to the energy transition in the UK and abroad; providing critical working capital for deployment in clean growth projects around the world; providing additional funds for Wood’s research and development in clean growth sectors.
Under the agreement, Wood will commit to increasing its clean growth portfolio and significantly reducing its greenhouse gas emissions over the five-year tenure of the facility.
Wood employs nearly 7,000 people across the UK and generates nearly GBP400mn annually from its exports. The company expects its export revenue, related to low- carbon projects, to significantly increase
as the energy transition gathers pace and the loan will help them capitalise on these opportunities, supporting green jobs at the firm.
UK EXPORT FINANCE, August 19, 2021
Week 33 19•August•2021
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