Well-Safe Solutions have been contracted by Ithaca Energy to plug and abandon (P&A) six wells on the Anglia platform in the Southern North Sea, approximately 55km from the UK mainland.

The contract – for an undisclosed sum – will see the Aberdeen-based well decommissioning specialists provide project management, well engineering and all managed delivery services for the project.

The Well-Safe Protector harsh environment jack-up rig is nearing the end of extensive technical preparations and will mobilise to the field in late summer 2022.

Matt Jenkins, Chief Operating Officer at Well-Safe Solutions, said: “This full-service contract is further vindication of our operating model and allows Ithaca to realise the benefits of Well-Safe’s extensive experience in the Southern North Sea.

“Well-Safe delivers environmentally-friendly and cost-effective well decommissioning operations, unlocking key learnings over multi-well, multi-operator campaigns.

“We are thrilled to have reached this agreement with the team behind Ithaca Energy, who have entrusted Well-Safe with this important project, allowing them to maintain resources on their production delivery workscopes and significant capital projects.”

An option to P&A an additional three subsea wells is also available during 2023.

Jane Eddie, Bid Manager, added: “We have worked closely with Ithaca Energy to design a contract which meets their needs and – crucially – those of Offshore Energies UK, the North Sea Transition Authority and other industry stakeholders.”

“Our team is uniquely positioned to support Ithaca Energy with their decommissioning obligations, as we are the first UK-based company with owner-operated rigs to exclusively perform well P&A operations.”

Commenting, Ricky Thomson, OEUK Decommissioning Manager, said: “Decommissioning has a crucial role to play in helping the UK deliver its net zero ambitions, as outlined in the North Sea Transition Deal. The UK’s decommissioning industry has an incredibly exciting future ahead, and projects like this will be vitally important to realising those ambitions.

“We welcome today’s announcement by Well-Safe Solutions. We wish the project the very best of success moving forward.”

This contract announcement follows recent news of Well-Safe Solutions’ purchase of the WilPhoenix semi-submersible rig from Awilco Drilling. The rig will now undergo conversion for well P&A activity and has been renamed the Well-Safe Defender.