Dismantling and recycling of Curlew FPSO

The production vessel, Curlew, was operated by Shell UK, and produced oil and gas from the Curlew field in the UK sector in the North Sea. The chosen decommissioning solution known as a float over- float in operation has never been used on such a large scale anywhere in the world. The contract was awarded to AF Offshore Decom through competitive tendering, and includes engineering, preparatory work, dismantling and recycling.

The production vessel was transported to the facility at AF Environmental Base Vats in Rogaland in 2020. The preparations on the FPSO have been ongoing at AF Environmental Base for some time, and the float-over-float-in-operation was completed in November 2022. The ship has been transported ashore in the largest single offloading of a production vessel that has been carried out in this way. The hull is safely located on the quayside at AF Environmental Base Vats, ready for cleaning, dismantling and final recycling. These activities will start immediately and continue throughout 2023.

Facts

Curlew is 235 meters long and weighs around 25,000 tons. After preparatory work, the hull of the ship weighs about 21,000 tons.