Removal of the Ekofisk tank
Excavators fitted with claws and sorting equipment cut and sorted the superstructure of the Ekofisk tank offshore and transported it ashore for source separation and recycling.
Project status
About the project
When the superstructure of the Ekofisk tank was to be removed, AF chose to pick it clean with excavators out in the North Sea. The components were transported to the AF Environmental Base at Vats for source separation and recycling.
98 %
Steel recycled
25 000
Topside weight in tonnes
Vats, Norge
Developed new removal method – "Piece Small”
The Ekofisk tank was the start of the Norwegian oil adventure. When the tank’s superstructure was to be removed, it was also the start of a new and forward-looking industry: recycling of offshore installations. A social challenge in which AF saw the opportunity to use its expertise from the removal of industrial plants onshore in an offshore environment. Based on a study carried out in 2004, AF was commissioned to remove the superstructure on the Ekofisk tank. The project was carried out as a general contract at a fixed price. The work included engineering, planning, removal and disposal (EPRD).
AF developed a completely new method of removal, "Piece Small". Excavators fitted with claws and sorting equipment were moved offshore. The tank was then dismantled, cut up, sorted and loaded onto specially-built containers and transported ashore with supply vessels from Heerema.
The Ekofisk tank was then made ready for recycling at what is currently Europe’s most state-of-the-art recycling plant for decommissioned offshore installations, the AF Environmental Base at Vats.
A total of 98% of the steel from the Ekofisk tank was recycled and used, for example, in reinforcement iron in buildings.