More than four decades after first producing oil, a 17,200-ton North Sea platform has been lifted from its steel jacket in a single operation and loaded aboard a heavy-lift vessel, owned by Switzerland-based offshore contractor Allseas, marking the start of its final journey to shore for dismantling and recycling.
Allseas has announced that its Pioneering Spirit vessel kicked off the 2026 lift season with the single-lift removal of the 17,200-ton North Cormorant topsides from the UK North Sea. As a result, the former production platform is now safely aboard the ship and on its way to Dales Voe, Shetland, where it will be dismantled and its materials prepared for reuse and recycling.
The firm emphasized: “The achievement reflects several years of careful planning, engineering expertise and close collaboration, culminating in a four-month offshore preparation campaign led by our skilled onshore and offshore teams.”
Another piece of North Sea oil history heading for shore
Crews, supported by Oceanic, carried out structural modifications, installed lift points, separated conductors and risers, and completed the final separation of the topsides from its steel jacket. This is the second topsides removal completed by the company under its multi-year Northern North Sea decommissioning contract with TAQA UK, following Eider Alpha in 2025.
The wider program will see more than 120,000 tonnes of offshore infrastructure removed from four TAQA platforms, according to Allseas. North Cormorant’s lift comes exactly ten years after Pioneering Spirit’s first commercial single lift at Yme.
Allseas highlighted: “What began as a new way of removing large offshore structures has, over the past decade, become a proven solution for bringing ageing infrastructure back to shore. And North Cormorant is only the start.
“The 2026 lift season is now underway, with a diverse programme ahead across decommissioning, oil and gas installation and offshore wind. Congratulations to everyone involved in getting North Cormorant ready for lift-off.”
This removal marks the physical end of another long-running production chapter for the UK North Sea, as another piece of offshore infrastructure moves into its final segment onshore. North Cormorant came online in February 1982 and ceased production in June 2024, following more than four decades of operations as part of the Cormorant field development.
Located in the Northern North Sea, around 500 kilometers northeast of Aberdeen, North Cormorant, which served as a host for production from several fields, including Causeway, Fionn, Otter and Eider, was among the offshore facilities that helped establish the area as a major oil-producing region.
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