World’s largest heavy-lift jackup completes UK North Sea decommissioning

(WO) - Petrodec has completed a major offshore decommissioning campaign in the UK Southern North Sea, marking the first operational deployment of its OBANA heavy-lift jackup vessel. 

Working on behalf of Perenco UK, the vessel removed the jacket and topside from the Galahad normally unmanned installation (NUI), along with multiple jacket structures from the Amethyst field, including the C1D, A2D and B1D platforms.

The OBANA has since transported the structures to a dedicated decommissioning yard in Vlissingen-Oost in the Netherlands, where dismantling operations are set to begin.

“Only a few months since her completion, the Petrodec OBANA has already proven her worth with the successful first rig move back to our dedicated yard,” said Rainier Verhulst, Petrodec general manager. “Her size enables decommissioning operations to be safely conducted at an unrivalled pace and scale.”

Completed in 2025, the OBANA is designed for complex offshore removal campaigns in water depths of up to 65 meters. The vessel features a 2,000-tonne crane and can handle up to 12,000 tonnes of deck load, allowing multiple structures to be removed in a single campaign.

The project highlights growing demand for integrated decommissioning solutions in the North Sea as operators accelerate end-of-life asset removal.