Statoil’s very first multi-well subsea template was lifted ashore in Mekjarvik, just outside Stavanger, in the early hours of Thursday, 31 May.
The template was used on the abandoned Tommeliten Gamma field in the North Sea.
“The entire lifting operation went smoothly, and we are very pleased,” says Øivind Dahl-Stamnes, manager for the licences North Sea sector in Exploration & Production Norway and coordinator for the removal of the subsea installation.
Tommeliten, south-west of the Ekofisk area, is the first Statoil operated field on the Norwegian continental shelf to be plugged and abandoned. Around 11 billion cubic metres of gas and 19 million barrels of oil were produced from 1988 to 1998. Plugging the six wells began last year and came to an end in April this year.
The diving vessel Seaway Osprey had the task of preparing the removal of the template and carried out the work in May.
On Sunday 27 May Saipem 7000, one of the largest lifting vessels in the world, arrived on the Tommeliten field. The template was lifted on board on Monday and arrived at Mekjarvik on Tuesday evening.
The 13 year-old, 1100-tonne subsea installation is old fashioned compared with today’s advanced equipment, and cannot be reused. The structure will be scrapped, and the steel will be sent to a steelworks for processing and recycling.