

Shell UK’s Goldeneye Wellhead Platform Installed (2003) and Removed (2021) by Heerema’s Thialf
Heerema’s Thialf has safely removed Shell U.K. Limited’s Goldeneye wellhead platform after installing the structure in 2003. The operations included removing the 1280t topside and the 3019t jacket before transportation to the AF Environmental Base in Norway for recycling and reuse.
Located in the Central North Sea, in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf, around 100 km northeast of the Aberdeenshire coast, the Goldeneye platform included five platform wells in 120 m water depth with a direct tie-back via the Goldeneye pipeline to the St. Fergus onshore facility. It was operational as a gas-producing field from 2004, and cessation of production was granted in 2011.
Heerema used their reverse installation method to remove the platform, starting with removing the 1280t topside in a single lift. After removal, the topside was transferred to Thialf’s deck for transportation.
The jacket skirt piles were cut using Deco Subsea’s internal abrasive water jet cutting techniques at -3m below the seabed. After which, the 3019t jacket was safely removed and remained suspended from Thialf’s cranes for transportation to Vats, Norway.
The Goldeneye platform has been safely set down at the AF Environmental Base yard in Vats, Norway, to be dismantled for reuse and recycling. It is anticipated that over 97% of the material will be recycled.
Thialf will now undergo yard maintenance, including modifications to the vessel’s A-Frame to enable the vessel to expand its service area and deliver solutions in the Baltic and the Black Sea regions.

…the 3019t jacket was safely removed and remained suspended from Thialf’s cranes for transportation to Vats, Norway.
Source Heerema