Tough equipment for the toughest jobs

1 October, 2018

A total solution for platform decommissioning

Nitrogen Generator for the total offshore solution provided for the platform decommissioning of the Viking Platform in Viking Field, UK

After more than 40 years in operation, the platforms at the Viking Field, 168 km East off the Lincolnshire coast, UK, had served their purpose: the operator recovered almost 125 billion m³ of natural gas over the course of the years.

Halliburton was appointed to decommission 9 satellite platforms and 3 subsea facilities and partnered up with Atlas Copco Rental to supply a full scope of air, power, nitrogen and service technicians.

A truly total solution

The decommissioning of these platforms was a whole undertaking: pipelines had to be isolated, depressurised, cleaned and removed.

No less than 7 TwinAir diesel-driven compressors fed 4 membrane nitrogen generators. Two more 350 kVA diesel generators and accessories complete the installation, which ran for a total of 800 hours over the course of 60 days. Six Atlas Copco Rental technicians travelled along to keep all the equipment in perfect working order.

The whole installation delivered nitrogen with a purity of 97% at 22 bar, the ideal recipe to clean a gas pipeline, also safely displace the wellborn fluids and to perform diagnostic tests. The compressed air was used to drive “pig trains”, large plugs that are launched in a controlled way through the pipeline to clean or flush it.

Atlas Copco Rental will be supporting Halliburton with other operations such as abandoning redundant wells and preparing pieces of the platform for heavy lifting.

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Atlas Copco is a world-leading provider of sustainable productivity solutions. The Group serves customers through its innovative compressors, vacuum solutions, generators, pumps, power tools and assembly systems. Atlas Copco develops products and services focused on productivity, energy efficiency, safety and ergonomics. The company was founded in 1873, is based in Stockholm, Sweden, and has a global reach spanning more than 180 countries. In 2017, Atlas Copco (excluding Epiroc AB) had revenues of BSEK 86 (BEUR 9) and about 34 000 employees. Learn more at www.atlascopcogroup.com. Specialty Rental is a division within Atlas Copco’s Power Technique business area. It serves customers in all industry segments around the world with temporary air, power, flow, steam and nitrogen rental solutions. The specialty rental services are offered under several brands. The divisional headquarters is located in Belgium.