Decommissioning of Offshore

Platforms

Submitted By:
M D Chandra Haas (NA846)
Shubam Bhatt (NA840)
Anvesh T (NA834)
 History of Offshore Decommissioning

There are around 45,000 O&G offshore platforms around the globe.
Approximately one-fourth of these platforms are more than 35-40 years old, some
dated as far back as the 1950s), As these structures come to the end of their
economic lives, they must be decommissioned.

Platform abandonment has five steps:

Obtaining necessary permits and approvals
Plugging the well
Decommissioning (removing hydrocarbons from equipment)
Removing the platform.
Clearing the site.

Some of the difficulties with decommissioning is finding the right balance between :
Technical Feasibility
Environmental Protection
Health and Safety
Cost
Public Opinion

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Life Cycle of an Offshore production platform

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 Factors in Selecting Removal Methods
Factors to consider in selecting a method for each platform removal include

1. The age of the platform

2. The location and water depth
3. The configuration and type of platform
4. The weight of the lifts and Soil strength
5. Weather conditions, and scour.
6. International and National Laws and Regulations

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What can be decommissioned in an offshore old-field:
1. Top side facilities (completely or partially)
2. Abandoned (non productive) wells
3. Decks
4. Jackets
5. Sub sea pipelines
6. Sub sea wells.
7. Sank Rigs (salvage)
8. Damaged offshore platforms
(post hurricanes, earthquakes or blasts)

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Decommissioned platforms can go for
1. Scrap
2. Re-use for functions besides oil and gas production
3. Using the structures in part or whole as artificial reefs
4. Conversion of offshore structures into fish farms
5. Prisons or military outposts.
6. Touristic offshore escapes (new approach) (Fishing/Diving/Seawater sports)

The costs for decommissioning services and equipment are currently challenging
and competitive.

In addition, the cost for fabricating new structures is increasing one current trend
for offsetting costs is to reuse a portion or all of the offshore facility.

Although reuse has primarily been used in the (GoM) Gulf of Mexico, many
operators are considering this option in other locations, such as West Africa and
Southeast Asia.

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Removal Options

1. Leave-in-Place Option
2. Partial Removal Option
3. Topple-in-Place Option (Jackets)
4. Complete Removal Option
5. In-Situ Complete Removal
6. Complete Removal Jacket Hopping

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Diagram of dismantling and abandonment options for offshore
installations and component parts.

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The complete abandonment of a platform well involves five steps
(Permits/Plugging Abandon/Purging Hydrocarbon/Removal/ Site cleaning)

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 CUTTING TECHNIQUES
Explosive cutting techniques
Bulk Explosive Charges
The most commonly used technique for cutting piles and conductors is with bulk explosives.
Castable and moldable explosives, have high velocity on detonation, and shattering power
that is 15 to 30 percent higher than TNT, and are not as dangerous to handle as other high
explosives and can be molded in the field to the required size and shape.

Bulk charges can be shaped to fit pile or well dimensions that differ from the construction
drawings. For example, if the smallest casing string in a well is 7 Dia. instead of 9.5 Dia,
as anticipated, bulk explosives can be reformed into a smaller container with little or no
delay. Bulk explosives can also be deployed in conventional piles and wells without the use
of divers.

Bulk charges are lowered into the prepared piles and wells and detonated nearly
simultaneously (with a 0.9-second delay) in groups of eight or less. All of the piles and wells
can be severed within an hour or two.
The cost of bulk explosive cutting services is the lowest of all available alternatives
In addition to the environmental impact, the explosive force sometimes bells out piles and
wells so piles cannot be pulled out through jacket legs. In these cases, the jacket must be
lifted with the piles and the belled portion cut off.

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Non-explosive Cutting Techniques
Mechanical Cutters
Cutting mechanisms that use
hydraulically actuated,
carbide-tipped tungsten
blades to mill through tubular
structures .
The power swivel turns the
drill string so that the milling
blades are forced outward
hydraulically to cut the pile or
well
Non cemented Legs or
Stings

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 Abrasive Cutters
Mechanisms that inject cutting materials
into a water jet and abrasively wear away
steel.
(also called sand cutters, abrasive jet
cutters, or abrasive slurry cutters).
There are two types presently in use:
(1)cutters that use sand or slag mixed
with water at relatively low pressure (4,000
to 10,000 psi) and high volume (80 to 100
gallons/minute).
(2)Cutters that use garnet or other
abrasive materials injected at the nozzle at
relatively high water pressure (50,000 to
70,000 psi) with lower water volume.
cutting shallow-water, open-pile, well-
protector jackets; single-thickness, small
vertical caissons; and wells with un-
cemented casing strings

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 Subsea water jet cutting goes ultra-deep and ultra-high pressure

Cutting of 50m of
12mm thick steel,
independent of depth,
in a single deployment

It typically involves a
UHP (3900 bar) stream
of water with an
abrasive, such as
garnet, added.

Using an ROV

Using a Diamond Wire Saw

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Diver Cuts
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Hydraulic Shears

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Example of Decommissioning works in the UAE
Company Platform/ Piplines Year Decomm. Type Utilization of Decommissioned Parts
ADMA-PCO Umm Shaif 1 (US1), 1998 Complete Removal Scrapped, install new monopods in the same
US2, US3 place

ZADCO Arzana complex 1994 Leave in place Mothballed

ADMA-PCO ZAP (Zakum 1990 Complete Removal Accommodation module integrated decks
Accommodation were cut from ZCSW and installed in ZWSC
Platform)
ADMA-OPCO ZCSC (Zakum Central 1986 Leave in place Mothballed
Super Complex) In 1991 it was de-mothballed partially, then
completely de-mothballed in 2011
ADMA-OPCO Gas Gathering2 1986 Leave in place Mothballed
@ ZWSC

ADMA-OPCO Umm Shaif Super 1993 Complete Removal Scrapped

Compex (USSC) of old Inclinator unit (Post a fire)

ADMA-OPCO 35 subsea pipelines 2014 Removal Scrap

from Zakum Filed

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 Structural Integrity Management (SIM)
SIM systems can ensure longer term asset integrity, taking into account
the operations, life extension, and decommissioning phases of the
asset life cycle.
It should be in place from the cradle-to-grave of an asset.

A robust SIM system is designed to ensure:

1.Safety of those working offshore

2.Continued production
3.Protection of the environment
4.Legislative compliance
5.Industry best practice.

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THANK YOU

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