Sarens recently helped remove decommissioned platform topsides from the North Sea’s Valhall oil field complex, located off the coast of Norway. Working in close cooperation with client Allseas from May through June, Sarens successfully loaded out and transported several topside modules from the Quarters Platform (QP), which had originally been built in 1979 but was no longer in use.

To prepare for the operation, Sarens first outfitted its barge Louis with suitable grillages that could support the approximately 3.850-tonne topsides. Then, the barge was sailed from Ghent, Belgium to Norway, where it was ready for load-in a few days later. 

With the barge on site, Sarens and Allseas began demobilising the topsides, which took about a week. First, Allseas’ construction vessel, Pioneering Spirit, removed the topsides from the jacket and transported them to the disposal yard at Stord in Norway (Kvaerner Stord AS). Here, the Pioneering Spirit was moored close to the final disposal yard quay. 

Next, the topsides were transferred to the Sarens barge Louis, which was positioned below. This transfer operation relied on the Pioneering Spirit’s TLS system, with ballasting to correct for the COG offset. The barge Louis then transported the topsides to the disposal yard and moored in load-in position. 

After the sea fastening brackets were released, the topsides were lifted off the barge. Sarens operators drove 120 axle lines SPMTs (K24-ST) onto the barge to lift and load out the topsides. The barge was ballasted for stability as the SPMTs transported the topsides onto the quay and set them down on disposal supports.

This operation took place from May through June of 2019. Sarens commends project manager Kenny Decoster and the crew that made this operation a resounding success. Thank you to everyone involved in this important decommissioning operation!