The Norwegian offshore safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority, has given Equinor consent to dispose of the facilities on the Heimdal field in the Norwegian part of the North Sea.
"Equinor has applied to the PSA for consent for the disposal of the facilities on the Heimdal field. We have now granted the company this consent," the PSA Norway said.
Most of the wells at the field were permanently plugged in 2015, and production from Heimdal ceased in 2020.
Heimdal is used as a gas processing center for tied-in fields until 2023. A decommissioning plan for Heimdal was submitted in 2020, and according to the formal removal resolution, decommissioning must be completed by the end of 2028.
The Norwegian Petroleum Act requires the developer of a field to pay for and to carry out – including full or partial removal of facilities and equipment after the production period has ended. The removal work must take place pursuant to the HSE regulations for the petroleum activities, and on the basis of considerations including consent and decommissioning plans.
Earlier in 2021, it was said that the Heimdal riser platform would be removed in 2024, at the earliest, while the Heimdal main platform and the Veslefrikk A platform would be removed no earlier than 2025.
Undated information on Equinor's website says the following: "Production from the fields that process gas at Heimdal is declining. The Heimdal owners and users have decided to shut down operations in June 2023. The gas from Oseberg will no longer be routed via the riser platform at Heimdal, but will instead utilise a new bypass on the seabed that links the gas pipe from Oseberg with Statpipe and Vesterled. The two platforms at Heimdal will be taken ashore for demolition."