Maersk Decom wins decommissioning contract for Banda and Tiof fields

Denmark-based Maersk Decom has bagged a contract from Tullow Oil for the complete plugging and abandonment of the latter’s Banda and Tiof fields offshore Mauritania.

The company is a 50:50 joint venture between Maersk Drilling and Maersk Supply Service, which was created in 2018, to offer decommissioning solutions to the offshore energy industry.

The Mauritanian contract is the first project where Maersk Decom will deliver an end-to-end plugging and abandonment solution under a single contract.

The Danish offshore decommissioning contractor said that the solution involves project management, engineering and planning and the execution of plug and abandonment of seven legacy exploration and appraisal wells, and also the removal and disposal of subsea equipment.

Maersk Decom will be responsible for bringing in all personnel, assets, and equipment needed for the offshore decommissioning project, which includes offshore support vessels and a drilling unit.

Lars Banke – CEO of Maersk Decom said: “By delivering the entire scope under one overarching contract, we can optimise the project every step of the way. We believe bundled projects and campaigns are the way of the future for the industry. As a dedicated decommissioning company, we are proud to have been able to achieve this milestone together with Tullow.”

Located 53km and 84km respectively off the Mauritanian coast, the Banda and Tiof fields are contained in 1200m water depth.

Maersk Decom said that part of the offshore decommissioning project team will be based locally in the Nouakchott office of A.P. Moller – Maersk. The rest of the onshore team will support from Maersk Decom’s headquarters in Lyngby.

While the planning and engineering start immediately, a site survey is to begin in the second quarter with offshore execution likely to commence early 2021.

Mark MacFarlane – Chief Operating Officer of Tullow Oil said: “This award to Maersk Decom builds on the success of Tullow’s recent decommissioning campaigns in the UK Continental Shelf where Tullow successfully contracted out complete decommissioning and plugging and abandonment scopes to specialist contractors. We are looking forward to working jointly with Maersk who provided us with the most convincing offer.”