Shell has awarded AF Gruppen in Norway the contract for dismantling and recycling the Curlew floating production vessel.
Curlew is expected to arrive at AF’s yard in Vats in the third quarter of this year. AF expected to complete the job by the end of 2024.
Shell originally intended to take the vessel to Turkey for scrapping, once it had been cleaned up by Augean in Dundee, where it arrived in June 2019. But Augean was unable to complete the clean-up in Dundee, where the vessel remains berthed.
Parts of the FPSO could not be cleaned without first being dismantled, but Dundee did not have dedicated ship recycling facilities.
AF’s yard in Vats has carried out a number of decommissioning jobs, including the Murchison and Janice platforms.