Executive Viewpoint

John Lawrie: Decommissioning just got greener

10 March 2011 DecomWorld speaks to Ray Grant, Environmental Director at John Lawrie, about how the metal reprocessing and environmental services company is cornering the piece small and subsea areas of the North Sea's decommissioning market, and how its new 'concentrate and contain' solution for handling NORM will revolutionise hazardous waste treatment.

Interview by Rikki Stancich As the North Sea oil and gas decommissioning market gathers momentum, John Lawrie Group, the largest metal recycler and exporter of processed scrap metal in the North and North-east of Scotland, is not sitting idle. The company has chanelled investment into its facilities' capability for processing and recycling redundant subsea materials including flexible risers, flowlines, and umbilicals. No stranger to offshore oil and gas, John Lawrie has already successfully carried out a number of decommissioning projects. Now, with strategically located SEPA licensed waste treatment facilities close to quaysides, it is ideally placed to offer a suite of decommissioning services to the oil and gas market that deliver best-in-class compliance on sustainable waste management. DecomWorld catches up with John Lawrie's environmental director Ray Grant to learn more about how operators can benefit from its services. DecomWorld: The John Lawrie Group has been developing its capability to recycle redundant subsea materials. To what extent will this address the existing shortage of onshore facilities to handle recycling these materials?

Ray Grant: The existing shortage of onshore decommissioning facilities is primarily for jackets and topsides which require very large specialist quayside facilities with deep water berths to receive them. However, the type of materials we are currently focused on processing are in the subsea and piece small areas of the decommissioning market.

These relatively smaller items can be received through most North and Northeast ports, thereby allowing greater flexibility to our clients, as were not tied to any particular location. This can involve the unreeling and cutting up of risers, flowlines and umbilicals, and the downsizing and cutting up of steel structures which can typically range from around 50 tonnes to 500 tonnes. Our initial objective is to reduce the items either in size and/or weight at the quayside to enable the cut pieces to be loaded onto our articulated vehicles and transported to one of our SEPA licenced treatment facilities for next stage processing, recovery and recycling. Our facilities throughout Scotland (Aberdeen, Montrose and Evanton near Invergordon) have the combined capacity to receive and process up to 200,000 tonnes per annum, so we have ample capacity to cope with current and projected demand in the piece small market for the foreseeable future. DecomWorld: What portion of these materials can be recycled? Ray Grant: The short answer is: almost everything. As we have developed our skills in the recovery of the various items, we have seen, and continue to see, steadily increasing recycling percentages being recorded. The key to good recycling lies in the ability to separate out the various component parts, thereby removing any cross contamination which would otherwise result in the recovered product being unsuitable for recycling. A good example of this is in flexible Risers and Flowlines, which are made up of a number of metallic and non metallic layers, where we are now recovering and recycling up to 100%. We achieve this by separating out the various layers (typically between 6-8) through a largely mechanical process into their constituent parts. The recovered metal is then processed on our site by means of a fixed shear and made ready for shipping to steel mills in Europe. Our fixed shear in Aberdeen is the largest in the UK, and represents a 3m pound investment. The plastic content, which initially went to landfill, is now passed on to licenced processors who granulate it into feedstock for new plastic products. Umbilicals pose a bit more of a challenge as they do not separate out very easily. However, by processing these through our fully automated fragmentiser/shredder at our Montrose site, this enables us to separate and recover the various metallic content for recycling.

When it comes to large protection structures or manifolds, these are generally of all steel construction and can relatively easily be reduced in size and recycled 100%. Concrete mattresses can also be successfully recycled. The concrete can be crushed using conventional stone crushing equipment and used as sub base material, with only the nylon tie rope being land-filled, resulting in >90% recycling. DecomWorld: What is the incentive for operators to recycle where possible? (Is there any existing or pending legislation in place requiring operators to recycle subsea materials and topsides?) Ray Grant: All operators are keen to recycle as much as is practically possible and exercise a Duty of Care. Under the Petroleum Act 1998, operators have to submit their decommissioning plans to DECC (Dept of Energy & Climate Change) for approval. They have to demonstrate that they have carried out a detailed Environmental Impact Assessment, are taking all possible measures to comply with good waste management practice, and applied the waste hierarchy of reduce, reuse and recycle, and minimise landfill. At the end of the decommissioning programme, they have to complete an Environmental Report and forward it to DECC. To assist our clients, we provide them with our own detailed Environmental Report listing all the various items received, the weight of each, how they were processed, the percentages of the various recovered materials and their ultimate destiny. Apart from a legislative requirement, all operators have their own Environmental Management Systems in place and are always keen to contribute towards their own reuse and recycling environmental policies and objectives, and adopt environmentally acceptable and sustainable solutions, with disposal to landfill as a last resort. Of course, there is also a financial incentive for operators to recover and recycle. The value recovered from the recycled materials is passed onto the client and offsets the costs associated with the handling, transporting, processing and management of the work. So it definitely pays to recycle. DecomWorld: At what point does John Lawrie become engaged in the process does it offer offshore services, or does it handle the kit as it comes onshore?

Ray Grant: All of our services are onshore and we take over the minute the material hits the quayside. However, its important that we get involved at an early stage in the planning process. Most clients tend to involve us early as possible in the planning stage, usually at the same time they are looking to appoint their offshore recovery contractor. Its important that we have good communication with the offshore recovery contractor, as well as the client, so we know what will be expected from us. For example, the preferred port location; whether the risers or umbilicals will be on reels and require cutting; the weight and size of heavy structures such as manifolds or protection structures, which may have to be downsized to enable transportation; and the type of mobile plant and equipment we will require to have available. DecomWorld: John Lawrie is also working on providing an alternative more environmentally sound - solution for processing normally occurring radioactive material (NORM). Can you provide more details of this? Ray Grant: We are progressing through a JV company (NORM Solutions Limited) a new NORM decontamination and disposal facility in Aberdeen, which will be operational later this year. A site has been secured and we are about to commence with site development work and installation of bespoke process equipment. The entire process will be carried out in enclosed controlled conditions with no discharges to atmosphere or any marine environment, including drainage systems (concentrate and contain as against dilute and disperse). This exciting development will provide oil and gas NORM producers with an environmentally acceptable and sustainable solution, and a long awaited alternative service. DecomWorld: How is John Lawrie positioned to take advantage of the growing North Sea decommissioning market? Ray Grant: John Lawries existing licenced facilities throughout the North and Northeast of Scotland are well located to service the growing decommissioning market. We are strategically located close to harbours with whom we have developed excellent working relationships over a number of years exporting our processed scrap, and look to build on our decommissioning capability.

We have developed the skills and competences to handle and process decommissioning materials, and have a loyal and experienced team. We have already invested heavily (>4m in last 3 years) in both fixed and mobile plant and equipment, and are currently planning major upgrades to our facilities. Looking to the future, we are currently working with a port operator, which is currently undergoing significant quayside upgrading and is expected to be operational from the summer of 2011. This will enable us to receive much larger structures as demand grows and decommissioning ramps up. To respond to this article, please write to the editor: Rikki Stancich
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Executive Viewpoint

SapuraAcergy: Iwaki more than just a toe dip in the decommissioning market
27 October 2010 Decom World speaks to project manager Stig A. Adolfsen, and Tom O'Malley, technical manager for the Iwaki Platform Decommissioning Project, to learn more about the project and the challenges it presented for the SapuraAcergy team.

By Rikki Stancich

Earlier this year SapuraAcergy Sdn Bhd successfully completed the Iwaki Platform Decommissioning Project, worth an estimated US$60 million, for Nippon Steel Engineering Co. Ltd.

Located in 154 m (505 ft) of water roughly 40km of the east coast of Japan, the Offshore Iwaki gas field - the first and only one ever developed in the offshore area of Japan's Pacific ocean side - was shut down in 2007. The eight-legged, 20,735-metric ton (22,856-ton) Iwaki platform is the largest to be decommissioned in Japan to date. The facility, commissioned in 1983, consisted of offshore drilling modules installed on the jacket structure and a pipeline for transporting gas from the field to the Offshore Iwaki Petroleum onshore plant in Naraha Cho. DecomWorld catches up with Stig A. Adolfsen, project manager and Tom OMalley, technical manager for the Iwaki Platform Decommissioning Project, to learn more about the project and the challenges it presented for the SapuraAcergy team. DecomWorld: Was the project weather sensitive and were any relevant mitigation strategies identified for future projects? Stig Adolfsen: The Iwaki field is located on the Pacific Ocean side of the Japanese coastline. The project received years of statistical information on the weather condition in the field at project award. All this available data was used to perform weather sensitivity assessment during the engineering phase to assess any possible exposure to the operations due to the seastates. In anticipation of the weather sensitive operations, the project teams focus during the preparation phase was to carry out as much non-weather sensitive work during the anticipated weather downtime. In most cases during the offshore campaign, this planning paid off, allowing most weather sensitive work to be performed during good weather spells. However, an unforeseen bi-directional long swell did result in vessel movements that made operations and control of the lifted modules very challenging. DecomWorld: Which cutting equipment was used? Tom OMalley: All major subsea cutting equipment was designed, built and operated by Proserv Offshore. The spread provided offshore operations with multiple tooling options (as well as contingency tools) to perform any of the cuts to complete the work scope. Primary tools for subsea cutting was

diamond wire cutting tools, however these were complimented with a range of abrasive water jet cutting tools. To complement the major subsea cutting equipment, additional smaller diameter cutting tools was designed and built by TMT (Total Marine Technology) in Perth Australia. DecomWorld: How effective was the cutting equipment and would you use it again? Tom OMalley: The majority of the tooling selected for the project was based on a fly to place theory, which allowed an array of cutting tools to be placed on the seabed at a suitable time considering weather sensitivity as well as operational limitations. Once required to perform a cut, the ROV could hook up to the tool and fly it to its cutting location. This allowed other works to be performed in parallel with topside removal operations. All subsea cutting operations were completed using diverless technology off the critical path. Therefore the spread was effective. Would we use it again ? There is always room for improvement on any spread, and by completing our first decommissioning project we have learnt many lessons in relation with all areas of platform removal. Should SapuraAcergy get awarded a similar project then further efforts would be made to improve the spread and make it more efficient in performing their tasks subsea. DecomWorld: How would you rate the ROV performance? Tom OMalley: The Sapura3000 is equipped with her own state of the art work class ROVs the ACV 4 and ACV 5. The ROVs are fully integrated into the vessel and are operated by dedicated in-house crew. The Sapura3000 ROV team was involved in tool selection, tool design, tooling skid design and build and was involved in all tooling integration trials performed prior to going offshore. All subsea cutting operations were performed off the critical path without impact to the topside lifting and jacket removal scope. This may not have been achieved if the ROVs used were mobilized from a third party to perform the work.

DecomWorld: Were there any particular logistical challenges with bringing the equipment together for the project? Stig A.Adolfsen: As Japans offshore industry is relatively small, it was felt that it may not be possible to source some of the specialist materials / equipment required from local suppliers in Japan. The project team therefore needed to be sure that all the equipment mobilized was fit for purpose and suitable to complete the work scope, without delay to the operations. The Sapura3000, which has a significant deck area, was mobilised in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, complete with equipment (including contingency and spares) to perform the entire work scope. This included:
y y y y y y y y y y
200 MT of Fabricated Items 70 no. Heavy Lift Slings up to 14 dia. 75no. Heavy Lift Shackles up to 700T. 14 no. Subsea Cutting Tools 360 m of Diamond Wire 64 MT of Garnet (Grit) 1400 m of Wire Rope 9 no. Compressors 1800 m of Air Hose Air Diving Spread

DecomWorld: Was there any noteworthy creative problem solving required at any stage during the project? Was it successful? Stig Adolfsen: The project was tendered on the basis that subsea cutting operations could only commence after the topside modules were removed. SapuraAcergy challenged this requirement and performed detailed analysis to demonstrate that the subsea cutting operations on primary legs and braces could be performed in parallel with topside removal operations. Another problem was how to make sure the top half of the jacket would be stable after completing all cuts but prior to lifting. Internal slip stoppers were designed, fabricated, and installed to overcome this problem This proved very successful and contributed to the success of the project.

DecomWorld: Were any new approaches or technologies deployed? Tom OMalley: Significant development and testing work was performed on the subsea cutting tooling spread, however this is not new technology. Similarly the de-ballasting spread required a significant amount of work to ensure there was little chance of failure during the jacket lifting operation, however this also was not new technology. DecomWorld: Were any notable lessons taken from the project? Stig Adolfsen: The Iwaki Decommissioning project was SapuraAcergys first adventure into decommissioning activities, therefore we learnt many lessons throughout the project. On the engineering side there were several key lessons. Our client, Nippon Steel, had completed the module weight and CoG assessments, these were performed using as-built data and supported by installation records from the platforms 28 years of service. The accuracy of these records, complemented by a significant number of site visits during the engineering phase of the project proved invaluable. Lesson 2 was the jacket lift. The estimated overall jacket weight was well in excess of the lift capacity of the Sapura 3000 main crane. In order to achieve the lift, the legs of the jacket needed to be sealed and filled with air for buoyancy to reduce the lift weight. As there were many unknowns (actual marine growth weight, anode weight, potential flooded members etc.) it was not possible to engineer the exact jacket weight. Therefore, to prevent the jacket from becoming buoyant, the jacket needed to be lifted in stages, which allowed the jacket actual weight to be established.

The crane experienced 1050MT during the initial lifting case; therefore 1543MT of buoyancy was gained from 78% of the leg length being filled with air. The third lesson was the regulatory requirements. The remote location of the project engendered a key lesson. Performing decommissioning work in Japan requires a construction license issued from the Japanese authorities. Ensuring that all licenses and regulatory requirements are in place for the operations is important. While SapuraAcergy had all requirements in place, without these licenses, the project would have suffered. Environmental conditions presented a fourth lesson. From an operational perspective, the Sapura3000 prior to the project had operated in the South China Sea and India, the environmental conditions of the Pacific Ocean provided many challenges and resulted in a significant effort offshore to change the planned operations to suit the conditions. It would have been difficult to assess the vessel motion prior to arrival in the field, however, limiting the use of the Big Rig and maximizing the vessels small cranes and other lifting & pulling devices allowed the project to be completed.

DecomWorld: More generally, what areas in platform decommissioning are crying out for more cost-effective, efficient solutions? Stig Adolfsen: Had the Iwaki platform been in a less remote location the duration for the Sapura 3000 could have been minimized by utilizing a smaller vessel for the subsea cutting scope. Similarly, the topside removal scope could have been performed utilising a different methodology, such as bit-by-bit removal, and offloading to junk barges using smaller cranes.

However due to the remoteness of the platform and the lack of vessels in the area, the mobilization costs for such vessels could not be justified as the Sapura 3000 was required for the jacket lifting anyway. Image credit: Decommissioining of the Iwaki platform, copyright SapuraAcergy