DID YOU KNOW ?

• 90% of the world's offshore structures are in relatively shallow waters
• The majority of the world's heavy deepwater steel platforms are located in the North Sea.However, the deepest structures are located in the Gulf of Mexico (441 meters) and offshore California (366 meters) compared with the deepest in the North Sea (186 meters)
• To date some 1,000 structures have been decommissioned in the Gulf of Mexico - 70% in waters less than 30 meters deep and only 3% in waters deeper than 75 meters
• The heaviest single lift of a fixed steel structure to be removed so far weighed only 7,000 tonnes (the Frøy platform on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in September 2002). The Maureen structure was removed in June 2001 and weighed 110,000 tonnes. This structure was unique as it is the only gravity-based steel structure designed to be refloated. It was moved to an onshore location for deconstruction and partial reuse as no full reuse opportunities were identified
• The heaviest structures in the North Sea can weigh as much as a million tonnes