Perenco Files Decomm Plans for 4 North Sea Platforms

French oil firm Perenco has submitted plans to decommission four platforms at the Amethyst gas field in the North Sea, some 40 km off the Yorkshire coast, according to a copy of the plans published by the UK's Department of Business, Energy and Industry Strategy (Beis).

Amethyst, situated in the southern gas basin, was discovered in 1970, making it one of the first gas finds to be made in the UK North Sea. The field was brought into production in 1991.

Perenco, which acquired operatorship of the field from BP in 2012, said it had "explored all avenues" for continuing production but had concluded the project was uneconomical because of high costs and declining output. It is preparing a final cessation of production document, having filed a draft to the UK's Oil and Gas Authority in February.

The decommissioning plan involves removing the topsides of platforms CID, B1D and A1D between Q4 2023 and Q1 2024, followed by the topside of platform A2D in Q3. They will be removed using jack-up barges, if available. Separate plans will be prepared for the platform's jackets and pipelines.