Mammoet working on nationwide landmark gas well closure project

Mammoet is assisting WellGear Group and NAM with a significant end-of-life gas well decommissioning project in the Netherlands

Mammoet is providing logistical and engineering support to WellGear Group, and its client NAM (Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij – a joint venture of Shell and ExxonMobil) for one of the biggest gas well closure projects in the world.

The landmark project will see the decommissioning of every closed in onshore gas well in the Netherlands, including Groningen gasfield wells.

The project will equate to 800 gas production wells, in 350 locations, and 1750 km of pipeline to be removed. Closure of the first well started on 1 May 2024, with the project expected to continue for more than a decade.

Mammoet’s scope will be to coordinate and oversee on-site preparations prior to the arrival of WellGear’s P&A (Plug & Abandonment) hydraulic workover unit, which is used to shut in the gas production wells by filling them with cement caps. This equipment is also reducing both the carbon and noise impact of the project, as it is fully electrically driven.

Mammoet is managing the transportation, site preparations, assembly and disassembly of the P&A unit at each location, overseeing all road and on-site logistics of these movements. The equipment chosen to undertake the project was Mammoet trailers and mobile cranes.

Weighing 180t, the unit and its peripheral equipment, such as pumps, waste tanks, and accommodation units, will fill approximately 50 truckloads.

Its components will be transported to each location on conventional trailers, pulled by prime movers. The unit will then be assembled and disassembled using mobile cranes with capacities of 100t to 230t.

For efficiency, a 450t Mammoet mobile crane can be used for ‘well hops’, which is where multiple wells are in one location and only the WellGear unit needs to be repositioned.

Mammoet is supporting WellGear with rig layout plans, to determine how the parts and equipment will be stored at each location before assembly begins. Furthermore, it is assisting with required safety drawings and location safety plans, to help ensure a safe work environment for everybody involved with the project.

Its engineers are also providing guidance on whether civil works are needed to create space to accommodate the equipment in more remote locations.

Martin Alards, Project Manager at Mammoet said:

“This is a significant project for Mammoet. It is the biggest gas well decommissioning program in the Netherlands, even the world. The Netherlands is leading in these kinds of operations and with the world’s energy markets transitioning quickly, it is likely more countries will follow.

Working with WellGear gives us the unique opportunity to take our combined approach to efficient P&A operations further, not only in the Netherlands but worldwide”.