The world’s heaviest load of cargo is heading to Teesside on a huge ship the length of six Boeing 747 planes.
Able UK has created Europe’s strongest quayside at its Hartlepool yard ready for the arrival of the 24,200 tonne Delta topside – a huge section of the Brent oil field currently sitting in the North Sea.
The ship lifting the gigantic structure – the heaviest single cargo ever lifted in the history of the oil and gas industry – is called Pioneering Spirit.
To put its size into perspective, the ship’s length is the equivalent to six Boeing 747 planes and its deck space is equal to six football pitches.
Its total weight is 190,000 tonnes and it took two and a half million litres of paint to paint the vessel.
Shell’s Brent Delta platform ceased production in 2011 after 35 years in use, and the decision was made to decommission it – that process will take place in Hartlepool.
Teesside company Able UK has invested £28m to prepare its dock, which took more than 193,000 man hours to complete – equivalent to more than 100 jobs over a year-long period.
Neil Etherington, business development director at Able UK, said: “This has been a huge project already, and we’re still working hard for the impending arrival.”
“It’s exciting for the company and Teesside, and we believe this reaffirms Able as a leader in a sector which will only keep on growing.”
To get to Teesside, the Brent Delta Topside off the Shetland Isles will be lifted by the Pioneering Spirit, which is currently docked in Rotterdam.
It will travel across at some point in May.
The €2.6bn ship only came about thanks to the technical prowess of a 600-strong international team of engineers from Allseas, a Swiss-Dutch company which has worked for two decades to design and commission the largest construction vessel ever built.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Able boss Peter Stephenson said he was determined that the opportunity for oil and gas decommissioning would not slip away from the UK, with more than 652,000 tonnes of topsides from 109 platforms needing to be removed from UK and Norwegian waters, according to forecasts.
“Made in Britain is what we want to be doing,” he told the FT.
British taxpayers support the oil and gas industry and so, he argues, jobs and investment should come to the UK.
“I do think it should happen here, the decommissioning should be done in the UK for that reason.”
Around 98% of the Delta will be recycled, with its steel and equipment offered for sale globally.
Since the Brent Field was discovered in 1971, it became one of the most significant oil and gas finds made in the UK sector of the North Sea.
It helped keep the lights on during the energy crisis of the 1970s, sustaining thousands of jobs and contributed more than £20bn in tax revenues.
Disclaimer: This video is intended for informational purpose only. This may not be construed as a news item or advice of any sort. Please consult the experts in that field for the authenticity of the presentations.
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Source: Gazette Live
