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The FPSO Umuroa moored at the Tui oil field, 50kms from the Taranaki coastline.
The next stage of shutting down the Tui oil field 50km off the Taranaki coast is set to start with an underwater inspection of the area.
The field has been idle since operators Tamarind Taranaki were placed in receivership and liquidation in 2019 owing $320m to creditors after an unsuccessful drilling programme.
Demobilising the oil field is the current focus before the decommissioning phase begins, a Ministry of Employment, Business and Innovation (MBIE) spokeswoman said.
An underwater survey using a remote-controlled device to get a closer look at the area is planned soon before decommissioning begins, she added.
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The Ministry of Employment, Business and Innovation has received a report from UK-based oil-field decommissioning specialist Petrofac on the condition of the field’s eight wells.
The report includes options for removing the floating production and storage vessel Umuroa, which is moored over the field and connected to flow lines from the wells, and other undersea structures.
BW Offshore, which owned the Umuroa, cannot remove the vessel until full decommissioning of the wellhead is completed, the Environmental Protection Authority has said.
Taranaki iwi is working with the EPA and MBIE to ensure environmental and safety regulations are in place.
Shutting down the oil field will be undertaken in two stages – demobilising the Umuroa, and plugging and abandonment of the wells and safe removal of undersea structures.
The Government, which was an unsecured creditor of Tamarind Taranaki, will foot the $155 million decommissioning bill.
Tenders for the decommissioning phase have not been finalised.
