Mammoet is providing logistical and engineering support for the decommissioning of every closed-in onshore gas well in the Netherlands.
The company is providing logistical and engineering support to WellGear Group, and its client NAM (Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij) – a joint venture of Shell and ExxonMobil. The project involves 800 gas production wells in 350 locations and 1,750 km of pipeline removal. The closure of the first well began on May 1 2024, and the project is expected to continue for more than a decade. It will also include the decommissioning of the Groningen gasfield wells, the largest natural gasfield in Europe.
Martin Alards, project manager at Mammoet said: “This is a significant project for Mammoet. It is the biggest gas well decommissioning programme in the Netherlands, even the world. The Netherlands is leading in these kinds of operations and with the world’s energy markets transitioning quickly, it is likely more countries will follow.”
Mammoet’s scope will be to coordinate and oversee onsite preparations prior to the arrival of WellGear’s plug and abandonment (P&A) hydraulic workover unit, which is used to shut in the gas production wells by filling them with cement caps. This equipment is also reducing both the carbon and noise impact of the project, as it is fully electrically driven.
Mammoet is managing the transport, site preparations, assembly and disassembly of the P&A unit at each location, overseeing all road and onsite logistics of these movements. Weighing 180 tonnes, the unit and its associated equipment, such as pumps, waste tanks and accommodation units, will fill approximately 50 truckloads. Its components will be transported to each location on conventional trailers, pulled by prime movers. The unit will then be assembled and disassembled using mobile cranes with capacities of 100-230 tonnes.
A 450-tonne Mammoet mobile crane can be used for ‘well hops’, which is where multiple wells are in one location and only the WellGear unit needs to be repositioned.
Mammoet is also supporting WellGear with rig layout plans, to determine how the parts and equipment will be stored at each location before assembly begins. Furthermore, it will be assisting with required safety drawings and location safety plans, to help ensure a safe work environment for everybody involved with the project. Its engineers are also providing guidance on whether civil works are needed to create space to accommodate the equipment in more remote locations.
