Montrose Port Authority has stepped forward to rival Dundee in the offshore decommissioning market.

The Angus harbour believes it is well placed to capitalise on the lucrative industry for dismantling offshore oil and gas structures that have reached the end of their life.

Investment of £15 million at the port in the last three years has seen major upgrades to quays on both sides of the harbour.

Three heavy lift pads with a capacity of 15 tonnes per square metre have been created.

Additional pads are in the planning stage and there is ample deepwater berthing and operational quayside space.

Other attractions include the port’s mile distance from the open sea and no tidal restrictions.

The North Sea oil and gas industry has identified Montrose as an important one-stop base with deep-water berths, open storage, more than 40,000 square metres of warehousing and office accommodation adjacent to the quaysides.

Montrose Port Authority believes the facilities already in place and in the pipeline can make it a centre of excellence for offshore decommissioning.

The authority will promote the harbour’s potential as a decommissioning centre at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Offshore Europe exhibition in Aberdeen next month

Nik Scott-Gray, chief executive of MPA, said: “Over the next 12 months we will undertake a master-planning process that will, amongst other things, allow the further development of additional deep-water berths and even more heavy lift pads.

“We believe this investment in our infrastructure will attract interest from companies involved in offshore decommissioning, and we are looking to promote these capabilities.”

Earlier this year Energy Minister Fergus Ewing visited Dundee port, where he saw how £10m has been invested to improve facilities.

The spending included £1m on a specialist business called Dundee Decommissioning.

He said decommissioning of North Sea assets presents a huge opportunity for the Scottish oil and gas supply chain.

Source: www.thecourier.co.uk

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