HOT ON the heels of an alliance of unions and environment groups agitating for a West Australian decommissioning centre, the federal government has awarded engineering firm Kent a two-year technical advisory contract on the Northern Endeavour decommissioning project.
In a statement on its website Kent said it has been awarded the contract to support the permanent plugging and abandonment of the Laminaria-Corallina oil fields in the Timor Sea.
“The contract also includes advisory services for the safe removal of associated subsea infrastructure,” the statement said.
“Building on its existing work on the Northern Endeavour Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility, this award underscores Kent’s position as a trusted decommissioning partner with a deep commitment to regulatory compliance, environmental stewardship, and technical excellence.
“Under the initial two-year contract, Kent will deploy a multidisciplinary team of technical and regulatory experts to provide strategic and operational support throughout the planning and execution of the decommissioning phase.”
Executive vice president at Kent, Michael Costello said the contract reflects Kent’s expanding footprint in Asia Pacific and its proven track record in complex offshore decommissioning projects.
While no costs have been disclosed the project is funded by a temporary levy on offshore oil production, introduced in 2021 under the Offshore Petroleum (Laminaria and Corallina Decommissioning Cost Recovery Levy) Act.
This levy is designed to recover the full cost of decommissioning and remediation, following the collapse of Northern Oil & Gas Australia (NOGA) in 2020.
The Northern Endeavour FPSO is a 274-metre floating production, storage, and offloading vessel moored about 550 kilometres northwest of Darwin in the Timor Sea.
Next steps involve towing the FPSO to Singapore for final preparation, then loaded onto a Costco heavy-lift vessel for transport to its dismantling site, which is likely to be Denmark or South Korea.
Subsea infrastructure removal and well abandonment will begin in late 2025 with final environmental remediation expected to extend into 2026–2027.