TAQA awards Brae Alpha major decommissioning contract

WORLD OIL Staff 

Fig. 1. The Brae Alpha platform has been in production in the UK North Sea since 1983. The original operator was Marathon Oil, and now the installation is operated by TAQA UK. Image: TAQA UK.

TAQA UK last month awarded a major contract for the decommissioning of its Brae Alpha platform (Fig. 1) topsides in the central North Sea. TAQA awarded the work to leading offshore contractor, Allseas, following a competitive tender exercise. The award marks another major step in the execution of one of the UK’s largest decommissioning programs. 

The engineering, preparation, removal and disposal contract (also known as EPRD) for Brae Alpha will start later this year. Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit, the world’s largest heavy-lift vessel, will carry out the removal of the 33,000-tonne topside and12,000-tonne upper jacket in two separate campaigns. 

“This milestone reinforces TAQA’s position as a leader in safe, efficient late-life asset management and decommissioning,” said TAQA UK Managing Director Sandy Hutchison. “It represents a major project for a platform that has played a significant role in the UK’s energy security over four decades.’’ 

Allseas is also undertaking the EPRD decommissioning program for all four of TAQA UK’s northern North Sea assets, including North Cormorant, Tern, Eider and Cormorant Alpha, in what remains the largest single offshore decommissioning contract awarded in the UK to date. 

“We are proud to continue working with TAQA on this next phase of their decommissioning journey, which will see the Brae Alpha topsides removed by Allseas’ single-lift capability,” said Allseas President Pieter Heerema. TAQA has committed to reusing or recycling at least 95% of recovered topsides material. 

Brae Alpha began production in 1983 and is located approximately 170 mi northeast of Aberdeen. It has produced over 636 MMboe during its lifetime. TAQA has become one of the UK’s most active decommissioning operators. In 2024, it successfully reached cessation of production on four northern North Sea platforms. In 2025, it ceased production at East Brae in the central North Sea. Brae Alpha represents the next milestone in the transition to a post-production phase. 

About TAQA UK. Since acquiring its first North Sea interests in 2006 and assuming operatorship of those assets in 2008, TAQA UK has played a significant role in the UK offshore oil and gas industry.  

Today, the company’s portfolio puts it at the forefront of late-life operations and decommissioning. In 2022, TAQA UK executed one of the largest infrastructure removal projects in the UK North Sea with the removal of the Brae Bravo platform. As noted above, production ceased from its four northern North Sea platforms in 2024 and from the Brent System Pipeline, which the company had operated since 2009. Production also ceased from its East Brae platform in April 2025, but continues at its two central North Sea platforms, Brae Alpha and Harding, which are expected to cease production in the coming years.