Oceaneering, Aquaterra Energy Ink Decommissioning Collaboration

Aquaterra Energy, a leader in global offshore engineering solutions, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Jan. 29 with Oceaneering International Services Ltd., to offer complete decommissioning and late-life solution packages to the North Sea oil and gas industry.

Under the MoU, the companies will offer tooling and services in four distinct areas: platform well abandonment, subsea well abandonment, topside and jacket removals and subsea removals. Oceaneering will bring an expansive tooling portfolio and track-record in cutting, severance and dredging to the partnership. Aquaterra Energy will complement this by drawing on its intelligent engineering and extensive project management expertise, together with its own equipment inventory, to support projects.

“This collaboration with Oceaneering has been driven by a customer need for more complete solution players in the market. It’s not hard to see why: more than £15.2 billion will be spent on decom in the UKCS over the next decade, with 2,379 wells expected to be decommissioned in the North Sea over the next ten years. We’re ready to tackle this challenge alongside Oceaneering and offer a seamless solution to clients,” James Larnder, MD at Aquaterra Energy, said.

With an initial focus on the Southern North Sea, the companies will utilize Aquaterra Energy’s Great Yarmouth facilities to ensure the rapid deployment of technology and personnel offshore. Aquaterra Energy is also developing a new decommissioning and late-life conductor retrieval system to bolster the combined offering, which is due to be ready for deployment in mid-2020.