As part of its recent visit to Europe CODA coordinated a site visit to the AF Gruppen environmental base in Vats used for decommissioning and dismantling.

The visit was hosted by Graeme Fergusson, Trond Vidar Skår and John Roger Midtun and comprised a delegation of representatives from the WA Government department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (JTSI), Development WA, a number of Australian operators and technology suppliers.

The visit included an overview of the facility, its history and accomplishments to date as well as a tour of the yard and support buildings. The tour afforded the delegation the opportunity to fully understand the complexity of dismantling retired oil and gas facilities in a sustainable and environmentally conscious manner, with the facility achieving in excess of 98 percent recycling of materials by weight and providing a full environmental report on the provenance of all materials received.

Through visiting facilities such as the AF Gruppen environmental base, CODA and its partners and building a better understanding of the requirements for Australia to best prepare for its coming volumes of decommissioning. Undertaking large scale dismantling in an environmentally sensitive manner requires appropriate infrastructure, and such infrastructure needs to be in place ready for when it is needed.

Posted 12 October 2022