Northern Ireland-based Decom Engineering has secured three decommissioning contracts worth over $635,000, marking its entry to the Australian decommissioning sector and strengthening its position in the Asia Pacific region.
The decommissioning specialist was commissioned to supply and operate its chopsaw cutting technologies on behalf of a major operator in Victoria's Bass Strait as well as contract awards from two other clients for scopes in Australian waters.
Decom performed three cuts on a 20'' concrete weight coated carbon steel rigid pipeline and 25 cuts on a 13" in-filled flexible flow line jumper, with a 4.5'' piggy back, using its C1-24 chopsaw at water depths of around 400 meters.
The C1-24 chopsaw was powered by a WROV using Decom-supplied hot stabs and only two blades were used throughout. Another C1-24 chopsaw has recently been utilized on assets in Australia's North West Shelf, operating at around 500-meter water depths.
"The award of these three contracts by major operators is a clear signal that our commitment to the Australian decommissioning sector is being rewarded.
"With the extensive track-record Decom has established on projects in the UK North Sea, Africa and Asia, we judged that now was the right time for us to enter the Australian market and we are keen to be part of the sector's journey to sustainability,” said Sean Conway, Decom’s managing director.
In time, Decom also plans to introduce its Pipe Coating Removal (PCR) system to Australia to offer a full-service decommissioning option for redundant oil and gas steel pipes.
The PCR strips steel tubulars of all coatings and transforms the pipe into a reusable product suitable for construction projects and other uses, while decreasing carbon footprint and returning value to the asset owner, according to the company.
"To date our PCR system has processed more than 30,000 tonnes of steel tubulars from surplus prime and decommissioned oil and gas fields and we think that this is an offering which could introduce significant environmental and financial benefits to the massive Australian decommissioning sector," added Conway.