Shell plans to decommmission its North Sea Brent Delta platform.
More than 1,000 people and the world's biggest platform vessel will be involved in the £40bn project to dismantle one of the world's largest oil platforms.
Shell's Brent Delta Platform Image: Royal Dutch Shell |
115 miles off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea, the platform has produced around four billion barrels of oil, but is now close to the end of a working life which has spanned more than 40 years.
Standing some 300m from the sea bed, the "topside" of the platform rests on three giant concrete legs, each 170m tall.
At the base of the legs are 16 60m-high storage tanks, each with the capacity of four Olympic-size swimming pools.
The decomissioning process will involve lifting the 23,500 tonne "topside" using huge hydraulic arms on a 382 metre long ship which will then travel 380 miles to Hartlepool in England. More than 97% of the material will be reused or recycled, much of it becoming washing machine parts.
Shell will launch a 30-day public consultation on its decommissioning plans starting on 16th February 2015.