'There is plenty more to come beyond what is the Brent Bravo', says Tees Valley mayor

The arrival of the second oil rig platform, Brent Bravo, will give the region an economic boost, says the Tees Valley mayor.
The Brent Bravo Oil Platform arriving at Able UK.The Brent Bravo Oil Platform arriving at Able UK.
The Brent Bravo Oil Platform arriving at Able UK.

 

Invited guests and media as the Brent Bravo Oil Platform arrives at Able UK.Invited guests and media as the Brent Bravo Oil Platform arrives at Able UK.
Invited guests and media as the Brent Bravo Oil Platform arrives at Able UK.

The 410ft-tall structure was one of four oil rig platforms of the Shell Brent field which is situated north-east of the Shetland Islands - where it stood for more than 40 years. 

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The journey to the Able UK facillity marks the end of it’s life and over the next 12 months it will be taken apart – with the company aiming to recycle around 98% of the towering structure. 

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen watched as the oil rig platform was brought into quay six on the site, where it will be placed on a demolition pad. 

He said: “It’s come into the River Tees on the world’s largest vessel which already displaces more than a million tonnes of water. 

The structure is 410ft tall.The structure is 410ft tall.
The structure is 410ft tall.

“The engineering feat of this is phenomenal and what it does is put Teesside on the map for maritime decommissioning, Able are doing a fantastic job in that, and it creates economic growth. 

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“More importantly it creates jobs in Teesside. There is plenty more to come beyond what is the Brent Bravo. 

“We do this type of work fantastically well and we are using those skills in oil and gas that we’ve had for many decades now and we’re using them for environmentally friendly to take this stuff out of the North Sea and decommission it. 

“We’re taking it apart in a very enviromentally friendly way and it is creating those jobs that we sorely need. 

The Brent Bravo Oil Platform arriving at Able UK.The Brent Bravo Oil Platform arriving at Able UK.
The Brent Bravo Oil Platform arriving at Able UK.

“This is great all round for Teesside and long may it continue.”

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The process will take 80 workers around 12 months to fully take apart. 

But for those who missed the staggering structure’s journey down the north-east coast, there will be another chance to see a floating oil rig when the Brent Alpha platform is brought to Able UK to be decommissioned next year. 

In its prime, in 1982, the Shell Brent field was producing half-a-million barrels of oil a day – around half of the energy requirement for the UK at that time.