AF Gruppen and Heerema Marine Contractors have secured an engineering, preparation, removal and disposal (EPRD) contract for a platform on the UK Continental Shelf in the North Sea.

The contract was awarded by an unnamed North Sea operator to a consortium comprising AF Gruppen subsidiary AF Offshore Decom and Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC). It is the third contract awarded by the same client to the consortium during the past year.

The platform consists of a steel structure with topsides weighing about 23,000 tonnes and a supporting structure of approximately 12,000 tonnes. The contract also includes an option covering the removal of selected conductors and subsea structures.

Offshore surveys of the platform will begin immediately. Detailed engineering and preparatory offshore work will then be carried out over the next eight years.

Removal of the platform is planned as part of a multi-year campaign using Heerema Marine Contractors vessels. The structures will be transported to AF Environmental Base Vats for onshore dismantling, recycling and disposal within the next decade.

Lars Myhre Hjelmeset, EVP Offshore at AF Gruppen, said the latest award is the consortium’s third contract from the client in a year and will extend cooperation between AF Gruppen, Heerema Marine Contractors and the operator across offshore and onshore activities over the coming decade.