Phillips Petroleum's UK subsidiary has exercised the option in its existing contract with Aker Maritime to deconstruct the Maureen platform for re-use and recycling.

Maureen is to date the largest platform in the world to be removed after use.

Parts of the substructure are planned to be used in a new quay at Stord in western Norway - and the aim is to use anew or recycle no less than 95 per cent of the platform.

The assignment is worth NOK 700 million, which brings the total value of Aker Maritime's work with Maureen to NOK 1500 million.

Aker Maritime was closely involved in the planning and executing for the refloat of the 110,000-tonne steel platform in the UK sector.

In June it was towed inshore and moored in the Digernes Sound off Aker Stord's yard for inspection and cleaning.

Some of the equipment will be put up for sale. The remainder of the metals and other materials on the platform will be recycled and used in new products.

Aker Maritime has submitted a proposal to Phillips for a partial re-use of the platform as a new quay at the Aker Stord site.

The use of the platform's solid ballast in the foundations of a new quay at Aker Stord will combine good use of resources and regard for the environment, the company says in a press release.

PCB pollution from old ship's painting and cutting oil has been identified in the seabed sediments within the harbour basin. The contaminated mud will be recovered, packed in a polyester-reinforced wrapping, placed deep within the quay filling behind another fibre covering and finally covered with a layer of sand and mass of stones.

At the same time the deposited material will create a barrier which will prevent PCB residues from a previous quay filling seeping out into the harbour basin.

The new quay is also an important element in the comprehensive modernisation planned by Aker Stord.

In 1996 Aker Stord built one of the world's few dedicated facilities for the recycling of platforms at its site. It has a cooperation agreement with local authority environmental bodies for the disposal of waste from these activities.

The new facility was used for the demolition of the Odin platform, and just over 98 per cent of which was reused or recycled. The aim with Maureen is to reach the same satisfactory outcome.

During winter the platform deck will be lifted from the substructure and brought in to the decommissioning facility at Aker Stord. The substructure will then be cut up in pieces.

Installed on the UK field in 1983, the Maureen platform produced 223 million barrels of oil.

Right from the start Phillips designed the platform so that it could be removed in an environmentally-friendly way, and as much of it as possible reused.

Aker Maritime is one of a small number of companies in the world which specialises in the planning and execution of such removal operations
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