Decommissioning programs of the UK's 470 North Sea offshore installations that have begun to reach the end of their useful life have been presenting great challenges to the engineers responsible for these decommissioning projects. The North West Hutton platform operated by BP and its partners is the first large fixed offshore platform to be dismantled at sea under the agreed regulations of OSPAR. The OSPAR regulations require the topside of the structure to be brought ashore along with all supporting subsea structure, known as a jacket, that weighs less than 10,000 tonnes to recycle as much of the material as possible. Permission for structures to be left in place, due to health and safety issues, Operators have also to face technical challenges such as dismantling of the very big platform, lifting them, and disposing them offshore in a safe and environmentally effective way.
