Milestone for Tui Project as Phase 2 complete

Phase 2 was an offshore campaign that ran between April and July this year. It followed the disconnection from the FPSO 'Umuroa' in Phase 1, which was completed in May 2021.

Over the three months this year, 2,800 tonnes of subsea equipment were disconnected and removed from the seafloor within the Tui Field and offloaded at Port Taranaki. Over the coming months, this material will be transported to Hayes Metals’ specialised recycling facility in Auckland for processing.  

MBIE Tui Project Director, Lloyd Williams says completing Phase 2 this year is a great achievement, but it wasn’t without its challenges. “There was real uncertainty over whether we could begin Phase 2 in summer 2022 as it was dependent on receiving marine consents. These were granted in February, and the specialist vessel was mobilized to remove the subsea equipment before the winter weather set in,” Mr Williams said. 

“Covid-19 provided an additional challenge for Shelf Subsea, which was contracted to undertake the work. They managed the Covid situation very effectively, and overall, completed the work with a very good safety and environmental record. 

“Removing all the Tui flexibles and smaller subsea infrastructure, including gas lift manifolds, umbilical riser bases, gravity base anchors and anode skids, was a significant feat and involved detailed planning and co-ordination with Port Taranaki. We are also grateful to Taranaki Iwi for their continued involvement in and support of the project,” he said.

Wharehoka Wano, Tumuwhakarito (CEO) of Te Kāhui o Taranaki Trust, is pleased this phase of the Tui Project has successfully concluded. “It is a significant step in our Tui decommissioning journey and gives us growing confidence as Taranaki Iwi and the hapū of Ngāti Kahumate, Ngāti Tara, Ngāti Haupoto and Ngāti Tuhekerangi that, as kaitiaki, we can fulfil our responsibility and obligation of ensuring the mouri of our environment and cultural resources are protected and enhanced for future generations,” he said.

The successful campaign clears the way for the final stage of decommissioning involving the plugging and abandonment of the five production wells, scheduled for 2023. Helix Offshore Services, one of the world’s premier well intervention suppliers, has been contracted to undertake the work and will deploy its state-of-the-art Q7000 heavy well intervention vessel for the task. Engineering and procurement for Phase 3 is well underway.  

Phase 2 quick facts

Shelf Subsea is an Australian-based subsea contractor with operations in Southeast Asia and Australasia.

Equipment removed – 2,800 tonnes 
Length of flexibles recovered – 38km 
Personnel onboard during peak of offshore campaign – approx. 100 (75 were New Zealanders) 
Hours worked – 120,000+

Background 

MBIE, on behalf of the Crown, is responsible for the decommissioning of the Tui Oil Field after the liquidation and receivership of Tamarind Taranaki Ltd. The Crown is committed to ensuring the field is decommissioned safely in accordance with the law and good industry practice.  

A dedicated Tui Project team, within MBIE’s Energy and Resource Markets branch, is overseeing the decommissioning of the Tui Oil Field. 

Find out more about the Tui Project: decommissioning the Tui oil field(external link)