The Dales Voe decommissioning facility in Shetland, operated by Veolia and Peterson, is one step closer to becoming a centre of innovation for recycling offshore structures from the North Sea, following the successful collapse of the Ninian North platform using explosives for the first time.

The structure arrived at Dales Voe on 28 August 2020 via the Pioneering Spirit vessel operated by Allseas. Since arrival, the Veolia decommissioning team has decontaminated the structure, removing all hazardous materials to allow for future demolition in an environmentally friendly manner.

The Ninian platform is a 14,200 tonne steel structure that was delivered on eight legs each around 30m high. To significantly reduce the risk to the workforce working at height, and allow for remote demolition via specialist excavators, extensive planning with key stakeholders over several months enabled the explosive collapse of the platform legs to bring the structure much closer to the ground.

On the 5th June 2021, the platform was successfully collapsed without incident.

Now at the end of its working life recovering this structure is important to maximize the value of the materials contained within, and further the sustainability of the offshore industry. With a recycling target of 97% the project will now move into a demolition phase expected to last several months.

Set up to provide a full decommissioning service the partnership services include decontamination, deconstruction, waste management and environmental services together with associated integrated logistics, marine and quayside services. The partnership has been providing onshore decommissioning services for over 12 years and achieved ‘excellent’ environmental assessment ratings in the process. These services are offered by the partnership from their  sites including Lerwick Dales Voe, Lerwick Greenhead Base and Great Yarmouth.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Decom North Sea