Decom Engineering Limited (Decom) have consolidated a strong 2021 performance with a hat-trick of international contract wins valued at more than £400,000.

The decommissioning solutions specialist has this week deployed two of its pipeline cutting saws to the Asia Pacific region to start a six month campaign on behalf of a global oil and gas operator, following on from two successful projects in the North Sea and Celtic Sea.

The Gulf of Thailand project will see Decom’s cutting technology engaged in a 1000-cut programme to remove seabed pipeline infrastructure located in water depths of 70-100 metres, and includes concrete-coated pipelines ranging in diameter from 5-18 inch.

Prior to the Asia Pacific mobilisation, Decom completed the cutting of a production spool in 160 metres of water from one of the UK North Sea’s most northerly platforms, which followed on from supporting a well-abandonment workscope located in the Kinsale gas field in the Celtic Sea, off the south coast of Ireland.

In addition to the triple contract success, Decom has invested £200,000 to establish a new operational base near Aberdeen, and will mark its opening in the coming weeks with a series of technology showcase demonstrations for UKCS-based clients.

Decom Engineering chief executive officer, Sean Conway, said: 
"We have had an extremely busy and successful final half of 2021 with lots of strong interest in both our cutting tools and our Pipeline Coating Removal technologies. This has been sealed with landing our largest-value cutting project to date, and if all goes to plan in the Gulf of Thailand, we expect this will create more opportunities.

"We are in the process of tendering for a number of other significant contracts, which if successful would propel the business forward and ensure we start 2022 in a very strong position.

"With the imminent opening of our new facility in Aberdeen, located on the doorstep of a strategically important North Sea client base, and further investment planned for extending our equipment fleet, we are very much looking forward to taking the business to new levels of activity in the year ahead.”

Established in 2011, the Northern Ireland-based engineering company has developed technologies which provide greener, faster and safer solutions for decommissioning in the energy sector.

The company has developed a range of cold cuttings saws which can perform a "clean cut” through 2-24 inch materials, can operate in the harshest working conditions, and which are in demand for international decommissioning projects as oil and gas operators replace or remove ageing infrastructure and redundant assets.

A cost-effective, snag-free alternative to diamond wire saws and hydraulic shears, the cutting saws can be deployed on pipes, drill pipe, conductors, umbilicals, chains and wire rope.

Decom’s other primary business line, Pipe Coating Removal (PCR) equipment, can strip and clean decommissioned or surplus pipelines of multiple coatings, so they can be repurposed for use on other projects, returning value to the asset owner and saving significant carbon emissions.

Mr Conway added: 
"Following COP26 in Glasgow, the world has never been more focussed on reducing the carbon footprint of international business and championing the transition to renewable energies. Our cutting saw and PCR technologies can play an important role in assisting energy companies, not only in decommissioning redundant assets, but in making them ready for re-use in other industrial sectors, which reduces carbon footprint.”

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: Decom Engineering