Fossil Energy – Decommissioning
DeepOcean is nearing completion of a contract awarded by TotalEnergies for the disconnection and tow of the Gryphon Alpha FPSO, as well as the removal of associated subsea infrastructure.
This marks a first, with proprietary tooling designed and developed in-house enabling the entire scope to be executed fully diverless.
The scope of work included the flushing of subsea pipelines and manifolds, disconnecting flowlines and umbilicals from trees, removing risers and midwater arches, and recovering FPSO moorings. Once disconnected, DeepOcean also managed the towing of the FPSO.
The spool disconnection and blind flange installation represent pioneering achievements in diverless operations.
Gryphon Alpha was the North Sea’s first purpose built, permanently moored FPSO, and was originally commissioned by operator Kerr McGee. The asset was later acquired by Maersk Oil and then by TotalEnergies through its 2018 merger.
Although the field was initially expected to have a lifespan of just ten years, it has exceeded expectations, producing more than 250 million barrels of oil equivalent over three decades of operation.
