New collaboration between ESVAGT and specialists in decommissioning in the UK market has potential

Until June, ‘Esvagt Castor’ will follow the Well-Safe Guardian rig in a plug-and-abandon campaign in the UK sector. The number of wellheads on the seabed shows great potential.

With ESVAGT and Well-Safe agreeing a contract for ‘Esvagt Castor’ to support the rig Well-Safe Guardian, ESVAGT has its first foothold in a market with a significant potential.

'Esvagt Castor' will follow Well-Safe Guardian on a plug-and-abandon campaign for Repsol until June, and that collaboration may well be the starting point for more.

"Well-Safe is fully invested in the market for decommissioning of offshore production in the North Sea," says Jens Bagger, Head of Chartering at ESVAGT:

“The company operates two rigs that have been modified to decommission wellheads safely and efficiently. According to Well-Safe, there are approximately 4,000 wellheads in the English sector alone, which holds a very interesting perspective for ESVAGT and future work in this segment,” Jens Bagger says.

A market with potential

Once an oil- and gas company has finished a production in the North Sea, it is mandatory to leave the seabed in the same condition as it was prior to the energy production. Among other things, this obligation serves to prevent fishing vessels from pulling trawls over a wellhead and triggering an oil spill.

“In the UK sector, it is a legal requirement to have a stand-by vessel assisting when specialists are working with plug and abandon, and we have been keeping a close eye on the market and the potential it has for ESVAGT. We are pleased to be able to secure the first of hopefully more contracts with Well-Safe,” says Jens Bagger.

In 2020, Wood Mackenzie estimated that decommissioning in the British North Sea alone over the next 30-40 years is a market for 17 billion pounds.