THE ABANDONED FPSO Northern Endeavour will remain in place in the Laminaria Field in the Timor Sea until later this year, pending completion of disconnection activities and the arrival of a heavylift ship to take it to Danish breakers.
The decision to recycle the FPSO in Europe has been attacked by industry and unions, after The Australian revealed earlier this month that the Federal Government has awarded the disposal contract to Modern American Recycling Services for dismantling at a purpose-built facility in Frederikshavn.
The Maritime Union of Australia and the Australian Workers Union claim the offshore disposal contravenes Australia’s obligations under the Basel Convention, an international treaty that bars signatories from exporting hazardous waste if they are capable of managing it in an environmentally sound manner within their own borders. The Government denies any breach.
The unions, along with unsuccessful tender United Salvage, contend the FPSO could be safely dismantled in Australia and this would satisfy Labor’s pledge to work with industry to establish shared infrastructure requirements such as membrane-protected yards and vessels to carry out decommissioning, dismantling and recycling works.
The MUA quotes resources minister Madeleine King as telling Parliament in 2023: “As industry starts investing to decommission $60 billion in offshore infrastructure, we want as much of that investment to be spent backing Australian industry and Australian jobs.”
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources announced in early March that COSCO Shipping Heavy Transport had been engaged to ship the 274-metre, 108,406 GT Northern Endeavour to “a recycling location” on the semi-submersible heavylift Hua Rui Long, said to be the world’s third largest.
“There are only a few vessels in the world large enough to carry something as long and heavy as the FPSO. Securing an appropriate vessel in the right timeframes marks a significant milestone for the program,” the Department said.
At the same time DIST reported that an extensive well suspension and flushing campaign has been safely and successfully completed as part of the FPSO decommissioning, led by Phase 1 contractor Petrofac Facilities Management and undertaken by the light well intervention vessel Sapura Constructor.
Earlier, in November 2024, Northern Endeavour’s floating offtake hose was disconnected from the FPSO and towed by the AHTS Skandi Emerald to Darwin, where it was flushed and shredded for disposal.
The FPSO began operations in the Laminaria-Corallina oilfields in 1999 for Woodside and partners. In July 2015 it was sold to Northern Oil & Gas Australia, which later was forced to shut down over safety issues and subsequently went into liquidation, in September 2019.
All crew were removed in February 2020 and the Federal Government was obliged to take control of the abandoned unit and arrange its decommissioning and removal, at an expect eventual cost to taxpayers of over $1 billion. This is to be partly recovered through a levy on the oil and gas industry.
MARS has dismantling/recycling facilities at five sites in the USA and in Denmark and Brazil.
The overseas removal of Northern Endeavour still requires a hazardous waste export permit, which falls under the jurisdiction of environment minister Murray Watt and the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water.
A DIST spokesperson confirmed to DCN the FPSO is currently still moored in the Laminaria Corallina oilfields and will be disconnected later this year.