Well-Safe Solutions Secures More Decom Jobs for Eni in Dutch North Sea

Well-Safe Protector jack-up vessel (Credit: Well-Safe Solutions)

Offshore well plug and abandonment specialist Well-Safe Solutions has secured contract extension from Italian energy major Eni Energy Netherlands to decommission selected subsea and platform wells across Eni’s portfolio in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.

Eni has recently exercised another 90-day option for the Well-Safe Protector jack-up asset under a newly agreed contract amendment. This work is to be executed in direct continuation with the previously declared option which started in November 2024.

Upon the completion of the latest option with Eni, the Well-Safe Protector will move directly onto the Spirit Energy contract announced by Well-Safe Solutions in November 2024.

These multi-operator commitments will see the Well-Safe Protector committed until at least August 2025, with further longer-term options agreed with Eni as part of the newly signed contract amendment.

The amendment offers increased flexibility to Eni, who have the option to green light an additional 120 days of work to decommission platform wells immediately after the Spirit Energy work, along with two further options at 180 days each.

If these options are exercised, they have the potential to keep the Well-Safe Protector committed until the fourth quarter of 2026 outside the UK Continental Shelf.

With the Well-Safe Protector operational in the North Sea continuously since August 2023, it has already decommissioned 25 wells across Dutch and UK waters to date for Eni, Ithaca Energy and Neptune Energy.

 “Well decommissioning continues to account for a considerable amount of the North Sea’s overall decommissioning activity – with a 50% increase in well decommissioning forecast by OEUK last year.

“Since the Well-Safe Protector first mobilized in August 2023, it has delivered top-quartile operational uptime - ensuring the learnings from continual well decommissioning activity are reinvested into future work scopes,” said Phil Milton, Chief Executive Officer at Well-Safe Solutions.