The end of the Brent era

Pioneering Spirit removes Brent Charlie

Executed on 9 July 2024, the single-lift removal of Brent Charlie by Allseas’ heavy lift vessel Pioneering Spirit, represents the heaviest offshore lift ever performed, and concludes years of engineering and planning.

Removal of the fourth and final Brent platform is a significant milestone in a remarkable project spanning more than a decade. On all four occasions, Shell UK has opted for Allseas industry-defining single lift, motion-compensated technology.

Edward Heerema, Allseas Chairman, says “It started in 2013, with Shell’s decision to award Allseas the contract for the engineering, preparation and removal of its four Brent platforms. The trust shown then in Allseas’ technical expertise served as a milestone in the 20-year development of Pioneering Spirit. At the time, the vessel was still under construction, but Shell’s belief in Allseas gave us the opportunity to showcase our single-lift technology.”

The Brent field

For the past four decades, the Brent oil and gas field, located to the north-east of the Shetland Islands, has been a pivotal part of the UK’s thriving oil and gas sector.

Shell is decommissioning the Brent Field after 40 years of operation because it has nearly exhausted its economically recoverable oil and gas reserves. Initially, the Brent Field was expected to last 25 years, but thanks to continuous improvements and significant investments in the 1990s, its lifespan was extended well beyond that.

Brent Delta ceased production in 2011, followed by Brent Alpha and Bravo in November 2014 and Charlie in 2021. Shell trusted the decommission of the Brent Field to Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit  in 2013.

The Brent Delta removal 2017

Allseas’ single lift vessel Pioneering Spirit  set a world lifting record with the safe and successful removal of Shell UK’s 24,000 t Brent Delta platform topsides from the North Sea on 28 April 2017.

Located in the Brent field, approximately 186 km off the north-east coast of Shetland, the Brent Delta topsides sat on a three-legged gravity-based structure which stands in 140 m of water.

Pioneering Spirit  transported the topsides to the Able UK decommissioning yard in Teesside, North East England.

The Brent Bravo removal 2019

On 18 June 2019, Pioneering Spirit  successfully completed the removal of the 25,000-tonne Brent Bravo topsides from the North Sea. This operation, which took around 4 hours, marked the second decommissioning in the Brent oil and gas field after Brent Delta in 2017.

The topsides, once supported by three 12-meter diameter steel-reinforced concrete legs, were transported to the Able UK decommissioning yard in Teesside, North East England, for dismantling.

The Brent Alpha removal 2020

Pioneering Spirit  successfully completed the decommissioning of Shell’s Brent Alpha platform in the North Sea. This operation involved several years of planning and over a year of offshore preparation, including the strengthening and cutting of the steel jacket’s six legs. The 17,000-tonne topsides were lifted in a swift 9-second operation on the evening of June 21, 2020.

The 44-year-old structure was transported to Able UK Limited’s Teesside decommissioning yard in North East England for dismantling and recycling. Brent Alpha is the third platform to be decommissioned in the Brent oil and gas field, following Brent Delta and Bravo.