Spirit hands in decom plan for southern North Sea field

Spirit Energy has handed in a draft decommissioning programme for one of its southern North Sea fields for the UK Government to review.

The Ensign field lies 68 miles off the Norfolk coast and came on stream in 2011, having been developed with a single, normally unmanned platform, supported by a steel jacket.

The cessation of production justification for Ensign is in the process of being approved by the Oil and Gas Authority.

Spirit intends to take the topside modules and jacket ashore for scrapping, potentially as early as 2021.

Buried pipelines will be left in situ, though exposed ends which will be cut and removed.

Exposed concrete mattresses will be taken ashore.

Well decommissioning was carried out this year and is complete.