A total of 50,000 tonnes with an old platform is ready at the Aker Solutions facility in Stord in Western Norway. In the course of a year and a half, the platform from the Gyda field, and two platforms from the Valhall field, will be cut into small pieces. – First, the platform is stabilized and secured. Then the work starts on board, where all waste is removed and sorted, says Thomas Nygård, project director in Aker Solutions Stord, which shows news around the facility. The Gyda platform is now removed from the field, which is closed. Photo: Olav Røli / news One of the oldest fields Among the platforms that lie on land now is the old drilling platform from the Valhall field. It was the fourth field to start production in Norway in 1982, but on board now there is little reminiscent of the heyday. Almost everything is removed and only rust and old pipes are the only thing left. – The last thing they remove is the work light, Nygård says. The Valhall field started production in 1982, and was officially opened in 1983. Now there will be operation there until 2060. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB When everything is removed on board, the feet of the platform are blown up so that the platform goes to the ground. Then the metal is cut up and sorted, before it is sent on to more steelworks in Europe. – Everything will be recycled, and the goal is for 98 percent to return to the circular economy, says Nygård. Before the platform is to be cut up, he must be secured and cleared. Photo: Olav Røli / news Enormous quantities to be removed A report from Offshore Energy UK estimates that there are enormous quantities of old oil installations in the entire North Sea. According to them, there are about one million tonnes of installations that will be removed during the next ten-year period. In 2018, the same estimate was 200,000 tonnes. Thus, there is a colossal increase in projections across platforms approaching the end of life. Here was an old control room. Photo: Olav Røli / news For the shipyard at Stord, this means good times for the demolition. After Gyda and Valhall have been cut up, they will receive installations from the Heimdal and Veslefrikk fields. – Our order books are full by 2028, says the project director. Increases service life On the Valhall field, the old oil platforms have been replaced with new installations. Ole-Johan Faret, press spokesman for Aker BP, said that they had seen fit to produce 250 million barrels of oil when Valhall started production in 1982. – Now we will continue operations until 2060, and the goal is to produce 2 billion barrels of oil, says Faret. On board the platform, there is little reminiscent of production. Here there are rust and closed valves. Photo: Olav Røli / news SV: – Too easy to extend the life Lars Haltbrekken, who sits on the energy and environment committee for SV, thinks it is too easy to extend operations on Norwegian oil fields. – The automation in this must end, he says. He is not referring to the Valhall field in particular, but what he perceives as an overly generous extension of field life on the part of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. – All applications for extension of operations must be assessed against the obligations in the Paris agreement and climate goals, says Haltbrekken to news. This is one of the bridges that connect the platforms on the Valhall field. Photo: Olav Røli / news Good policy to extend operations Amund Vik (Labor Party), State Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is not in agreement with Haltbrekken. He believes, on the contrary, that it is good resource utilization to further develop Norwegian fields. – Liquidation would be our breach of the goals in petroleum policy of good resource management and high value creation, he says. Finally, all the steel must be passed on to the steelworks to be melted down. Photo: Olav Røli / news
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Platforms are queuing up to become nails – news Vestland
