BMT Cordah won a contract by Canadian Natural Resources International (CNRI). This project will see BMT provide vital support and guidance for the environmental aspects during two of CNRI’s decommissioning projects, both of which are currently in the planning and consenting phase. CNRI’s Murchison and Ninian Northern fields located in the northern North Sea have both been in operation since the early 1980’s. To ensure compliance with the requirements of key legislation and regulations set out by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), CNRI turned to BMT to draw upon its expertise and knowledge of decommissioning projects which includes Shelley, North West Hutton and Maureen Alpha and dates back to 1995.
As part of its support, BMT will develop the necessary documentation to inform project decisions, assess and manage environmental issues and ultimately support CNRI’s decommissioning programmes submission to DECC for approval. This includes: register of environmental permits, licences and consents; decommissioning waste management strategy; assessment of energy use and gaseous emissions; drill cuttings pile management assessment; comparative assessment of pipeline and jacket decommissioning options; EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) scoping report and subsequent Environmental Statement.
David Sell, Managing Director of BMT Cordah, comments: “The North Sea hosts almost 600 offshore platforms of which 54% are more than 15 years old. The average age of the decommissioned platforms in the North Sea to date is 17 years, indicating that decommissioning will become an increasingly significant issue in the region over the next decade. With strong experience in offshore operations, impact assessment and consenting procedures, our team of decommissioning experts are ideally placed to inform and manage the project for organisations such as CNRI.”