Forth Ports and AF Offshore Decom UK have signed an agreement to establish a new joint venture (JV) called AF Dundee, which will be responsible for developing a North Sea oil and gas decommissioning hub at the port of Dundee, Scotland.
Owned by Forth Ports, the port of Dundee is considered a good location to enable a significant share of North Sea decommissioning work to be performed there.
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It is also located close to several UK North Sea oil and gas assets and is also well-connected to rail and road links, port facilities and on-site supply chains.
Forth Ports chief executive Charles Hammond said: “Our vision is to position Dundee as a major decommissioning centre for the North Sea and to ensure that customers gain access to an efficient, cost effective decommissioning solution.
“Partnering with such an established and respected organisation as AF Offshore UK will certainly enable this vision.”
Currently, the port is installing a £10m quay extension that will enable it to manage large-scale loads generally required during decommissioning operations.
AF Offshore Decom UK president Bengt Hildisch said: “We have been seeking the right opportunity that enables us to build and expand our capabilities to the UK and create a sustainable, solution together with our facility in Norway, for the whole of the North Sea.”
A subsidiary of AF Gruppen, AF Offshore Decom UK operates AF VATS Environmental Base in Norway, one of the advanced facilities for decommissioning offshore installations in the North Sea.
Image: Forth Ports and AF Offshore Decom UK to form new joint venture. Photo: courtesy of Forth Ports Limited.
