LOC (Aberdeen) Ltd, part of LOC Group, has been appointed by Fairfield Betula (Fairfield Energy) to provide marine assurance and marine warranty services for the decommissioning of the Greater Dunlin Area in the North Sea UKCS.

The Greater Dunlin Area comprises the Dunlin Alpha Platform and two subsea satellite fields Osprey and Merlin.

The project will stretch over several years and involves the removal of the platform topsides modules, modules support frame (MSF), conductors and the subsea infrastructure for the subsea fields.

The Dunlin Alpha platform was installed in 1977, comprising a concrete gravity base structure (CGBS), supporting a steel topsides deck and production facilities, with new subsea fields, Osprey and Merlin installed in the 1990s and tied back to the platform.

Andrew Pointing, director of Marine Assurance and Risk, LOC’s project manager said;

“Our team will be supporting Fairfield Energy as its marine partner on this complex project, LOC has considerable expertise in this field, and our team will evolve along the plan’s timeline, pulling in different specialists to provide the appropriate expertise and skills to assist with this significant ‘end of life’ project, as it progresses.”

LOC is working with Fairfield Energy providing technical input to support the topsides removal work stream.

LOC will also be responsible for ensuring the appropriate marine processes and systems are in place to identify and manage risk for the operational activities.