Maersk’s new offshore decommissioning business, Maersk Decom, has secured its first commercial contract. Perenco has booked the company to remove and recycle the subsea infrastructure of its Thames field in the UK North Sea.

The project includes the cut and recovery of wellheads and wellhead protection structures, as well as end-to-end recycling and waste management, Maersk Decom reports.

From onboard the offshore support vessel Maersk installer, an integrated team will take care of the entire project management including engineering and execution.

“This is an important milestone for Maersk Decom, being the first project that moves our new company from studies and project development into execution. By integrating the project team, we will be able to ensure a seamless interface between the recovery and disposal scopes. We look forward to building a strong partnership with Perenco and expanding on the decommissioning track record already established by Maersk Supply Service and Maersk Drilling,” says Lars Banke, Chief Executive Officer of Maersk Decom.

Maersk Decom

Maersk Decom was created in April 2018 as a 50:50 joint venture between Maersk Drilling and Maersk Supply Service to provide scalable decommissioning solutions to the offshore energy industry.

Initially, the new company is covering up to 80% of the decommissioning process, including project management, well plug and abandonment, towage of floating units and removal of subsea infrastructure. But in the long-term, Maersk Decom also plans to provide the full end-to-end process of decommissioning.

“Maersk Decom may be a new company, but it is built on the track record that both parent companies, Maersk Drilling and Maersk Supply Service, have already established within the field of decommissioning,” said Banke, when the company announced its brand name at the end of June.

With Maersk Decom, the Danish shipping & offshore giant is eyeing a wave of decommissioning projects in the North Sea and worldwide. According to the company, more than 400 fields in the North Sea are expected to cease production by 2026.  “Latest market reports indicate that despite the recent uptick in oil price, decommissioning projects will still go ahead due to drivers such as infrastructure integrity, class approval and recertification, and limited export infrastructure,” Maersk Decom states.

The company also says it has already received interest for other projects, both in the North Sea as worldwide.

The decommissioning market is an important topic of the Project Cargo Summit, a two-day international conference about the transport of large and heavy cargoes, which is organised by Promedia Group on the 11th & 12th of September, 2019 in Rotterdam. Europe’s biggest breakbulk port, North Sea Port, will talk at length how it is working towards a one-stop-shop model to dismantle and recycle offshore structures. For more information about this dedicated project cargo and heavy-lift event, please visit www.projectcargosummit.com.