Forth Ports Limited and AF Offshore Decom UK on 28th August 2017 announce the signing of a Heads of Agreement with the intent to establish a new joint venture, AF Dundee, which will lay the foundations of creating a North Sea oil and gas decommissioning hub in the city of Dundee, with its nucleus at the port, Forth Ports said in its press release.
AF Offshore Decom UK, a subsidiary of AF Gruppen, is one of the North Sea’s most respected and prominent decommissioning contractors and operates AF VATS Environmental Base in Norway, the North Sea’s most advanced facility for decommissioning offshore installations.
The Port of Dundee, is optimally placed to accommodate a significant share of North Sea decommissioning work due to its proximity to many UK North Sea oil and gas assets, rail and road links, port facilities, its on-site supply chain and the city’s skilled workforce.
The Port of Dundee, which is owned by Forth Ports, is currently installing a £10m quay extension which will feature the UK’s strongest quayside, specifically designed to equip the port to handle the large-scale loads demanded during decommissioning operations.
AF Offshore Decom UK has an outstanding track record of more than 15 years in the execution of the North Sea’s most challenging decommissioning projects, such as Ekofisk 2/4T, Statoil H7/B11, CNR’s Murchison and many more.
The deal was brokered by Dundeecom, the public/private partnership between Dundee City Council, DC Thomson and Forth Ports. The partnership was created to establish Dundee as a multi-disciplinary, internationally recognised centre of excellence in oil and gas decommissioning.