AF Group Lands Contract to Scrap Oil Platform

The AF Group (AFG) has been awarded a contract with the oil company Statoil regarding the removal and recycling of an oil rig platform at the German continental shelf of the North Sea. The contract is part of an option the company was given when it was awarded a contract for the removal and recycling of another platform in 2011. The company says the project should be completed by 2016. The contract value is approximately NOK 500 million (US$84 million), excluding VAT (value-added tax).

AFG, headquartered in Oslo, Norway, is a turnkey supplier of services in property development, building services, facilities services, energy optimization, demolition/recycling and offshore.

According to AFG, the platform to be scrapped has been a part of a pipeline that exports gas to Europe. The contract will cover planning, engineering, removal and demolition of the installation.

Environmental base vats on the west coast of Norway, Europe’s most modern reception facility for decommissioned offshore installations, will be used.

Pål Egil Rønn, CEO of the AF Group, says, “The AF Group has built up expertise and capacity to handle removal and recycling of obsolete petroleum installations. It is therefore a recognition that Statoil, on behalf of Gassco, again has chosen the AF Group. This work lays the foundation for further growth within our environmental business in the North Sea."