Well-Safe Team Raises over £2,500 for COVID-19 Fund

Spearheaded by the Well-Safe Guardian rig crew, Well-Safe Solutions banded together during the pandemic to raise money for the Covid-19 Fund created by NHS Grampian Endowment Fund.

Our asset, the Well-Safe Guardian, is currently homed in Invergordon and looked after by our dedicated, hard-working crew. If each member of this crew was to travel home and back again, between them they would cover 1,335 miles.  Passing through Elgin, Inverurie, Altens, Montrose, Fife, Peterborough, Milton Keynes, North Wales and Oban.

The team decided to cover this mileage onboard the rig by rowing, cycling or running in the gym facilities or by racking up the step count around the rig. With further help from our onshore support team, utilising their daily exercise time, we managed to surpass our target mileage in the 20 days, making it virtually around the UK, back to Invergordon and even adding on the extra distance to the Aberdeen, Cove office.

By doing this, the team managed to raise £2,681 towards the incredible Covid-19 Fund set up by the NHS Grampian Endowment Fund.

The local charity has been working tirelessly to support the frontline workers during this current crisis through:

– ‘Comfort boxes’ for the NHS Staff and charities (including essential       toiletries and basic foods)
– Providing hand cream for all workers whose hands are struggling following the rigorous cleaning.
– Providing barrier cream for the workers whose skin is struggling under the PPE face masks.
– Providing 200 iPads for hospitals with patients during end of life care. This allows them to say their goodbyes via video call where possible. It will also go towards care homes for elderly relatives to better stay in touch with family members who are unable to see them.

We hope this donation is able to help the charity continue their work in in the fight against COVID-19.

Well-Safe was contracted to execute a multi-well P&A project in the UKCS from SELECT stage planning, DEFINE Engineering and management of the EXECUTION phase. Well-Safe’s value proposition to the operator was in applying detailed industry lessons to the project, reducing HSE risks and reducing the time per well whilst removing the administrative burden on the operator, who maintained a small oversight team.

With the most P&A experience in the industry, the team directly assigned to the project could count over 400 individual wells worth of experience from NNS platforms, CNS subsea campaigns and SNS Normally Unmanned Installation’s (NUI).

With only 3 months to plan from award to rig arrival, all engineering, project management, logistics and supply chain preparation was to be undertaken. Well-Safe not only ensured all timelines were met but also that many of the previous lessons learned by the team were able to be applied to ensure a swift reduction in P&A execution time from the offset.

To date, 9 wells have been suspended and work continues on the primary barrier installations to allow the platform to be called hydrocarbon free, a major step towards reducing risk for the operator. During the execution phase, a further £5.4mm of potential savings has been identified by taking advantage of opportunities through the rest of the campaign.

Fugro has secured an initial 3-year contract with Well-Safe Solutions (WSS), a UK-based offshore well decommissioning service provider. Fugro will deliver their integrated and bundled marine-based solution onboard the Well-Safe Guardian rig, WSS’s bespoke semi-submersible unit for executing subsea well-decommissioning work.

The contract award gives Fugro responsibility for supplying and supporting remotely operated vehicle (ROV) services, rig positioning and remote operations. Expert support in this area will come from Fugro’s remote operations centre in Aberdeen, Scotland: remote access via the onshore team will reduce the number of Fugro personnel required onboard the Well-Safe Guardian asset to improve efficiency and maximise safety.

Kevin Chambers, Fugro’s ROV Service Line Director, said: “I am delighted to announce this contract award with Well-Safe Solutions. Our teams’ skills and experience in plug and abandonment and decommissioning of offshore wells perfectly complement the expertise of Well-Safe Solutions. We will also add value through our extensive knowledge of marine asset integrity.”

Phil Milton, Well-Safe Solutions’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “Following an extensive tender process we are pleased to award this contract to Fugro for ROV, rig positioning and remote operations. The capabilities of their offering enable Well-Safe to maximise overall operational efficiency and delivery for our clients at a cost-effective rate while maintaining close commercial alignment.”

Well-Safe Solutions has announced the award of a significant work scope to Schlumberger for the provision of Plug and Abandonment Well Services.

The scope includes the supply of cementing service, wireline services, wellbore fluid services and fishing, milling and swarf recovery services.

The appointment of Schlumberger was the result of a highly competitive selection process through which Schlumberger demonstrated a highly attuned and complementary strategy for well decommissioning. The work will be aboard the Well-Safe Guardian; Well-Safe’s flagship decommissioning asset.

Phil Milton, chief executive officer at Well-Safe Solutions said: “We are delighted to award this contract to Schlumberger following an extensive tender process. Achieving this major milestone within the timeframes we committed to, will give us access to the necessary technology and ensure our operational readiness for Q2 2020.”

Donald McKay, Business Development Manager at Schlumberger said: “Schlumberger is pleased to deliver our services for well abandonment to our clients in the North Sea. The appointment of these fully integrated services shall enable significant benefit to the P&A market.”

Highland Hospice, MFR Cash for Kids and Raigmore hospital’s Special Care Baby unit are all set to receive a substantial sum from a triple safety collaboration initiative run during the Well-Safe Guardian’s repair and upgrade project at Nigg Energy Park.

The Well-Safe Guardian is currently undergoing a major refurbishment and upgrade project at Nigg Energy Park to become the first dedicated, bespoke well decommissioning asset of its time.

Neil Ferguson, Operations Director at Well-Safe Solutions said: “The initiative, that was led by the crews onboard, has really driven the development of a great culture and working environment throughout this ambitious upgrade project. We are proud that the hard work of everybody involved has paid off, benefitting three great charities.”

As part of an inclusion and engagement initiative run by all 3 companies, the workforce were asked to decide on the safety initiative and then voted on how the funds raised should be allocated.
As a result; Well-Safe Solutions, Global Energy Group & Rigfit7Seas, have each committed to donating £100 for every 10,000 incident-free Man Hours achieved, to the three nominated local Charities.

Ross Thompson, Project Manager for Global Energy Groups, Access & Coatings division commented: “We are delighted with the success of the Well-Safe Guardian project and to be able to donate this money to 3 well-deserving charities. The entire workforce has been behind the safety incentive and the success is a credit to their continued attention to safety and quality, a focus that is the heart of all 3 companies and their values”.

Rigfit7Seas, Project Manager, Ryan Knowles also commented “We are very proud to be a part of this generous act, not only are we coming together to execute this project safely and efficiently, we are giving back to the local community. Everyone involved has done a tremendous job to reach this milestone”.

The 3 companies were delighted to welcome representatives from all 3 charities to Global Energy Group’s, Port of Nigg facility where each charity received a donation of £2000 from some of the team that have been responsible for delivering the project so far.

Well-Safe Solutions has secured a significant new £66 million investment to fund the next phase of its journey as a tier one well decommissioning company.

MW&L Capital Partners has led the new round of investment, bringing together a consortium of private investors to acquire a major stake in the business.

Expenditure on decommissioning in the UK Continental Shelf is forecast to be £15.3 billion in the next decade*. Well decommissioning accounts for approximately 49% of total spend, equating to £7.5 billion spend over the next decade. Around 5,000 wells, of which 1,000 are subsea, require to be decommissioned in the North Sea.

Well-Safe chief executive, Phil Milton, said: “This significant investment marks the beginning of our next phase of planned growth. The initial private funding from our original shareholders has enabled us to build strong foundations. We have amassed the largest concentration of well decommissioning expertise in the North Sea, secured major plug and abandonment (P&A) contracts, and are generating significant revenues from our engineering business. In addition, we have acquired our first asset, the Well-Safe Guardian which is currently being upgraded and converted into a bespoke P&A asset for the industry.”

“With the backing of MW&L and existing shareholders, we’ll be bringing the Well-Safe Guardian into operation in the first half of 2020 and looking to acquire further assets as planned to accelerate the delivery of our campaign-based approach to the plug and abandonment of wells in the North Sea and Continental Europe.”

Mr Milton explained that this was a long term investment in Well-Safe which is delivering a long term solution to one of the industry’s biggest challenges.

MW&L is a private investment vehicle providing flexible, long term capital to growth businesses. Julian Metherell, a Founding Partner of MW&L commented: “Decommissioning is one of the greatest industrial challenges we face and a sector with massive global potential.”

“Well-Safe, with its wealth of well decommissioning experience, dedicated marine P&A assets and associated equipment, is the first-of-its-kind tier one company with a complete P&A capability, and is ideally placed to capitalise on this opportunity.”

Well-Safe was launched in 2017 to provide a ground-breaking approach to safe and cost-efficient decommissioning and now employs 70 staff and around 20 contractors. As a specialist well decommissioning company it allows operators to meet the challenges and regulatory requirements around decommissioning, while significantly reducing costs.

Well-Safe Solutions was established by industry stalwarts, Alasdair Locke, Mark Patterson, and Paul Warwick. Funding from Scottish Enterprise, including investment from the Scottish Investment Bank and a regional selective assistance grant, bolstered the initial private funding provided by the major shareholders.

Alasdair Locke and Paul Warwick remain as Chairman and non-executive director respectively. Julian Metherell of MW&L joins the board which also comprises Well-Safe’s senior management and Scottish Enterprise. Founding executive director, Mark Patterson, will be stepping down following the deal.

Mr Patterson said: “I am proud to have been involved in establishing a business that has the potential to revolutionise how we tackle well decommissioning safely, responsibly and cost-effectively. When embarking on this venture, I wanted to get the business onto the best footing, launching the brand and creating the right environment to attract the most experienced people in the industry to form a centre of excellence in P&A. With these accomplished and the first tranche of major external investment in place, the time is now right for me to step down and leave the business in safe and expert hands.”

Being part of our Plug and Abandonment Club will give you access to our unique vehicle to de-risk your profile of well inventory, with fixed rate guarantees, flexible delivery options, and future budget certainty. The P&A Club will provide an open and trusted knowledge sharing platform which helps to deliver continuous improvement to delivery performance driving, future proof solutions within a safe, collaborative environment.

We own and operate the Well-Safe Guardian, currently being configured to be the first dedicated well-decommissioning semi-submersible in the world. Owning this asset enables Well-Safe to provide cost certainty for the largest component cost in well decommissioning: the cost of the rig. Employing the same repeatable processes, with a constant crew of specialists and long-term relationships with our subcontractors, builds trust within the team, and provides our clients with a much higher degree of economic confidence.

By arranging multiple work scopes into continuous campaigns, we continually absorb and utilise lessons learned in the planning and execution of our well decommissioning projects, thereby maximizing efficiency.

Well-Safe Solutions are adding value to clients’ well decommissioning scope by providing highly skilled abandonment engineers using bespoke processes to design & deliver safe & compliant projects.

Continuous and diligent examination of risks & opportunities versus project requirements & economics, all within a safe & compliant working environment, means that Well-Safe are experts at balancing complexities for project success.

Well-Safe Solutions has today announced the award of two multi-million-pound contracts to continue the refurbishment of the Well-Safe Guardian, the decommissioning company’s first asset, into a bespoke plug and abandonment unit.

Global Energy Group and Rigfit7seas have been appointed to deliver the ambitious upgrade of the semi-submersible drilling rig. Global Energy Group will provide quayside services and the paintwork scope while Rigfit7seas will provide accommodation upgrade services.

Well-Safe Solutions is progressing in a timely manner with the refurbishment work on the asset which it acquired earlier this summer. As part of the upgrade, the company will be installing a dive system and the capability to deploy a SIL (Subsea Intervention Lubricator).

Phil Milton, Chief Executive Officer of Well-Safe Solutions, said: “The award of these contracts, within the timeframes we committed to, will ensure that this bespoke plug and abandonment asset will be available to the industry in 2020.”

Global Energy Group, who have been supporting Well-Safe with marine operations and quayside services since April, have secured the contract to support the upgrades and life extension works at the Port of Nigg.

Stuart Paterson, Managing Director for Global Energy Group, Access & Coatings commented: “We are thrilled to have been awarded this contract to bring the flagship semi-submersible up to standard. Creating opportunity for additional employment, we expect to have in the region of 80 personnel engaged in various work scopes until the end of the year.

“Working in partnership with Well-Safe Solutions, Global Energy Group will provide fully-encapsulated scaffold access, blast and paint services along with the provision of rope access personnel, mobile cranes, plant and labour, workboats and onsite facilities for the duration of the rig’s yard stay at our Nigg Energy Park facility.”

Brian Knowles, Group Managing Director, Rigfit7seas said: “We are delighted that Well-Safe Solutions has chosen Rigfit7Seas to carry out this sizeable scope on their flagship project. As the leading contractor in the market for accommodation upgrade services, this award will see Rigfit7Seas execute another project destined for operation in the North Sea. The project award further enhances our already extensive offering in the international marketplace and, at peak, will secure around 50 jobs across our engineering and construction teams for approximately 100 days, starting immediately.”

Launched in August 2017 with the vision to become a Tier 1 wells decommissioning company,  Aberdeen-based Well-Safe Solutions boasts over 500 wells’ worth of experience among its staff and is firmly on track to deliver a complete P&A solution to its clients.

Mr Milton added: “We believe we are now a key part of helping the industry achieve its 35% decommissioning cost reduction target. Joint well plug and abandonment campaigns, using our club approach will not only be more cost-efficient, but also help build UK supply chain expertise in decommissioning.”

Research has indicated there are over 33,000 wells worldwide to be decommissioned over the next twenty years.  The company’s long-term goal is to export their model and advance from the UK into this global marketplace.

It’s Well-Safe Solutions’ Two Year Anniversary!

“With continued support and collaboration from the industry, it has been brilliant to watch the company grow over the last year. Not only in size, but in strength with over 500 wells worth of experience, from our dedicated and hardworking team. Acquiring the Well-Safe Guardian, the first asset from our P&A Club offering and landing our first major contract have been huge highlights this year and with the move to our new office just around the corner, we can’t wait to continue our journey with some exciting opportunities coming up!” Phil Milton, Chief Executive Officer.

Well-Safe Solutions today announced it will be moving headquarters following a landmark contract win and acquisition of its first asset. 

The decommissioning company, set up in 2017, has invested several million in its new headquarters at the C4 Gateway Business Park, Cove, Aberdeen, having outgrown its facility at Hill of Rubislaw. 

Established to provide a unique Tier 1 well abandonment service, Well-Safe Solutions is on-track to deliver its ambitious plans, having acquired a semi-submersible drilling rig – the Well-Safe Guardian and been awarded a contract to decommission up to twenty-one wells on the Schooner and Ketch fields in the UKCS, operated by DNO North Sea (ROGB) Limited. 

Graeme Murray, Legal & Commercial Director at Well-Safe Solutions, commented “This has been an exciting journey and we are now ready to take the next step towards growing the business.

“We are delighted to have found an ideal building that will give our employees a great working environment.  It also will give us very quick access to our Dundee marine base, and with the new Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR), it will be much easier for all our employees to travel to and from the site.”   

The facility has the capability to house more than 200 people over two floors, with Well-Safe Solutions initially taking over the top floor with the option to expand downstairs giving sufficient capacity to accommodate continued growth over the next five years.   

Mr Murray added: “This significant investment demonstrates the company’s desire to become a global leader in the well decommissioning space. “ 

The company is gearing up for further contract awards and is in the final process of selecting a number of assets that it will purchase to enhance its complete well plug and abandonment package offering.