Liberty Industrial, an internationally recognized industrial closure company, announced the successful completion of the demolition of the Northern Producer (NP) platform on June 13. To achieve this, the company brought in international experts to develop explosive methodologies.
This project was part of a 10-month program to decontaminate, demolish, recycle and dispose of the floating production platform in a dry dock.
How was the demolition of the Northern Producer platform?
With a total weight of 11,500 tons, the safest strategy, Liberty Industrial determined, was to reduce the height of the structure using explosive techniques. The type of demolition, defined in collaboration with expert subcontractors, allowed for a controlled collapse by detonation at 38 points on the platform.
This project was notable for being one of the largest uses of explosives on a demolition site in Europe at the time. The NP fell in a symmetrical and controlled manner towards the rear wall of the dry dock, ensuring accuracy in the process.
It is important to mention that prior to demolition, hazardous materials such as asbestos, NORM, diesel/oils, electrical systems, contained water, energized systems, marine growth and housing module components were removed.
The platform was demolished in a controlled manner. Source: Liberty Industrial
About the Northern Producer floating platform
Originally constructed in 1976, the NP served as a drilling platform for the drilling platform before being converted to a floating production facility in 1991. It operated in the UK North Sea until 2021. In October 2023, Northern Offshore UK Ltd contracted Liberty Industrial to begin decommissioning.
“As our second major contract in the UK, we overcame the challenges inherent in the dry dock approach and remote location in Scotland. Sourcing skilled labor from Scotland and the North East of England, coupled with project management expertise from Australia, ensured a safe and innovative outcome.”
said Martin Hewitt, UK managing director
Liberty Industrial worked with selected subcontractors for blast demolition: Precision Demolition Company (PDC) for blast engineering services and design, and Applied Science International (ASI) for structural failure mode modeling.
Safe dismantling
Importantly, the demolition work was carried out at Kishorn Port Limited’s dry dock, located in northwest Scotland, providing an ideal controlled environment in which to carry out the NP demolition.
The dismantling of the NP will support local and international circular economies, with an expected recycling rate of 97% to 98%. Recovered ferrous metals, machinery and marine growth will be reused as fertilizer in the local farming community. Other electronic components and hardware were also recycled, promoting sustainability and environmental responsibility in the industry.
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Source and photo: ogv.energy
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