At an industrial yard in southwestern Norway, decommissioned oil platforms are slowly being dismantled for a second life in the circular economy
A handout released by Aker Solutions shows a machine demolishing elements of decommissioned oil platform Gyda in a yard in Stord (Norway) on July 11, 2022. Image: Bj¯rn Arve Baldersheim/Aker Solutions/AFP
Stord, Norway: At an industrial yard in southwestern Norway, decommissioned oil platforms are slowly being dismantled for a second life in the circular economy.
Three gigantic disused platforms stand on the docks on the island municipality of Stord where they are being taken apart bit by bit — as much as 98 percent of their total 40,000 tonnes is suitable for recycling.
"If you come here in a year-and-a-half, you will see nothing left", says Sturla Magnus, a senior official at Aker Solutions, a group specialised in both building and dismantling oil platforms.
Behind him, workmen in hardhats and fluorescent jackets are busy on the three structures: the platform from the Gyda field that was closed in 2020, and two others that have paid their dues at the Valhall field still in operation.
Once the security inspections are complete and the electrical equipment and dangerous materials like asbestos have been removed, the remainder — the giant, empty shells — are left to powerful cutting machines.