Dales Voe base to be developed in bid to lure fresh decommissioning work to Shetland

Lerwick Port Authority has struck a deal with a Norwegian company to develop a deep-water quay at the Dales Voe base north of Lerwick in a bid to attract further decommissioning work from the North Sea.

In a statement the port authority said it had entered into an “exclusivity agreement” with AF Decom Offshore UK Limited, a subsidiary of construction company AF Gruppen ASA.

The intention was to develop Dales Voe into “a decommissioning centre capable of meeting the growing UK requirement for the decommissioning of major structures located in the northern North Sea”, the authority said.

Since being established in the 1980s the Dales Voe base is generally regarded as having been under-used. Warehouses have been in operation, but ships berthing has been sporadic and the the office buildings were occupied at times by Shetland Islands Council departments including leisure and recreation.

Port authority chief executive Sandra Laurenson said: “We are abolutely delighted to have attracted such a significant offshore decommissioning contractor to be interested in coming to Dales Voe.

“We think it is a brilliant opportunity to work together with them to get the project delivered and be ready for when the fields are decommissioned in the years ahead.”

AF Gruppen’s business is in five areas: property development; building services; civil engineering; environment; and energy. The company also has operations established in Sweden, Poland, England and China.