Oil & GasRepsol SinopecNorth Sea, UK

Repsol Sinopec, Beatrice Alpha Derrick Removal

DSL began removing a redundant 147 ft derrick from Repsol Sinopec's Beatrice Alpha platform in the North Sea, taking down the top 63 ft and associated equipment without a crane and without any LTIs.

Key Metrics

Derrick height: 147 ft
Removed in first phase: 63 ft
Crane lifts required: 0
LTIs: 0

Derrick & CMC RemovalPlatform DecommissioningRope Access

Despite routine maintenance, the redundant drilling set on the Beatrice Alpha production platform was slowly degrading to a point where it could potentially become unsafe in the future.

The client needed the 147 ft derrick and associated equipment removed from the platform. The time of year brought adverse weather that slowed progress throughout the works.

Our team was contracted to remove the derrick and associated equipment, covering onshore project management, a derrick survey and structural analysis, engineering and fabrication, mechanical and E&I abandonment, and removal of the derrick structure and travelling equipment using rope access rig builders.

The structural analysis determined the removal sequence required to maintain integrity throughout the works. The execution used a floating pole methodology, mitigating the need for additional heavy lift resources. In the first phase, crews removed the crown, gin pole, guide rails, racking board, wind walls, all travelling equipment, electrical systems and the top 63 ft of derrick structure.

The scope to date was completed without crane use in a safe and controlled manner and without any LTIs, with most hours spent working at height or on ropes. During weather downtime, our operatives worked with the client on other integrity scopes on the asset to keep non-productive hours to a minimum.

DSL was scheduled to return to the asset to remove the remaining structure down to sub-structure elevation and complete the scope.

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