Brent spar disposal options unveiled

Shell U.K. Exploration & Production has disclosed 30 initial proposals by 19 contractors and/or groups for disposal of Brent spar oil storage and loading buoy, currently moored in a Norwegian fjord.

Shell Expro in July unveiled a list of contractors that would be asked to prepare outline proposals. From this, a short list of about six options will be chosen this year (OGJ, July 22, p. 20). Of the 30 options, 19 are for onshore scrapping and 11 are non-scrapping schemes.

Short-listed contractors will be asked to produce detailed proposals, which will be further analyzed before Shell Expro submits its preferred disposal option to the U.K. government in 1997.

The government approved a plan to dump the spar in deep waters off Northwest Britain last year. This was aborted after heated protests throughout Europe. The government maintains Shell Expro must show that any other disposal option is better than the deepsea dumping plan it approved.

Outline proposals

The outline proposals for disposal of Brent spar are:

John Wood Group plc, Aberdeen, and Maritime GMC, Stavanger, propose removing Brent spar topsides for use possibly as an onshore training unit and cutting the column into sections for placement as a foundation for a new quay at Mekjarvik harbor in Norway.
Rhodes Offshore Partners Inc., Toronto, suggest towing the spar to the deepwater Bull Arm yard in Newfoundland, where it would be dismantled offshore for recycling onshore.
ROS Holland BV, Ijmuiden, Netherlands, proposes floating and turning the buoy horizontally to be carried to shore for recycling. Options include re-use of topsides for training and offshore dismantling with pontoons.
Hollandsche Staalbouw Mij. BV, Gouda, Netherlands, suggests dismantling the buoy offshore, including cutting its storage tanks into nine smaller units to be re-used as storage tanks at a Shell refinery.
Brown & Root Ltd., London, would turn the buoy horizontally and tow it to a decommissioning facility at its Nigg yard in Scotland for recycling.
Kvaerner Installasjon AS, Oslo, Stolt Comex Seaway Ltd., Aberdeen, and Seaway Heavy Lifting Ltd., Zoetermeer, Netherlands, suggest towing the spar to Hanoeytangen yard near Bergen,for offshore dismantling. Options include using of topsides as a training unit, re-smelting steel in the main body, and re-using bottom ballast as rock fill in Norway.
Mayer Parry Recycling Ltd. of Erith, U.K., suggests towing the buoy from Norway to a site near Loch Kishorn dry dock in Scotland. There it would be upended for floating into the dock for onshore dismantling and recycling.
Costain Land & Marine Engineering Ltd., Bromborough, U.K., proposes to remove topsides at the buoy's current site, then tow the remainder to Loch Kishorn for offshore dismantling prior to onshore disposal and recycling.
Thyssen Stahlunion GmbH, Dusseldorf, submitted two plans: vertical dismantling of the buoy offshore, using clamps or climbing jacks to increase buoyancy, followed by disposal onshore; and re-use of the spar as a water desalination plant for use off Norway.
Amec Process & Energy Ltd., London, suggests offshore dismantling with use of some parts for construction projects, or upending it for return to shore at Tyneside, U.K., for dismantling and recycling.
Umoe Haugesund AS, Haugesund, Norway, would tow the buoy to its fabrication yard for removal of topsides with a semisubmersible crane vessel and deballasting while the crane vessel lifts it into a horizontal position for dismantling onshore.
Jan De Nul BV, Aalst, Belgium, proposes removal of topsides offshore, followed by controlled burial of the spar's main body in the seabed in a trench dug by Gerardus Mercator.
Hollandia BV, Krimpen, Netherlands, suggests refurbishing the topsides and converting the buoy to a floating power station with three 3,000 kw windmills.
Ramboell/Monberg & Thorsen AS Consortium has two suggestions: re-use as a fixed offshore platform for accommodation or drilling; and onshore scrapping after maneuvering the spar into a horizontal position for transport to shore.
McAlpine Doris JV of Hemel Hempstead, U.K., suggests upending the buoy into a horizontal position using inert pressurized gas for buoyancy, followed by onshore dismantling for re-use in coastal civil engineering works and sectioning of storage tanks for re-use.
The U.K.'s Cammell-Laird, NNC Ltd., and VSEL propose transporting the spar to docks at Birkenhead, U.K., for raising to a horizontal position with buoyancy aids and heavy lift equipment prior to onshore dismantling.
Heeremac VOF, Leiden, Netherlands, suggested using its fleet of cargo barges and crane vessels to raise the spar to a horizontal position by one of three methods for dismantling onshore or dismantle it offshore in a vertical position.
Aker AS, Oslo, and Saipem SpA, Milan, would tow the buoy to Aker's Stord yard in Norway for vertical dismantling while afloat into sections suitable for recycling.
Taylor Woodrow Civil Engineering Ltd. of Southall, U.K., proposes maneuvering the buoy into a horizontal position using compressed air for buoyancy, with disposal onshore at Hunterston yard, Scotland.