History
The Brent Charlie oil platform, part of the Brent oil field operated by Shell UK Limited, was installed in June 1978 as the last of four platforms (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta) in the North Sea. Located 186 km northeast of Lerwick, Shetland Islands, the platform ceased production in March 2021 after nearly 40 years of operation.
Brent Charlie featured a concrete base with 19 oil production wells, nine water injection wells, and six gas injection wells. It had a production capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 8.5 million standard cubic meters of gas per day. The topsides, weighing 34,000 tonnes, included processing facilities and accommodation for 120 personnel.
In July 2024, the Pioneering Spirit vessel removed the 31,000-tonne topsides in a single lift, the heaviest offshore platform lift on record. This concluded the Brent topsides removal campaign, which also included the Delta (2017), Bravo (2018), and Alpha (2020) platforms.
The topsides were transported to Able Seaton Port, Hartlepool, UK, for dismantling and recycling, a process expected to take 18 months and contribute to local employment and recycling efforts.
Explore
Friday evening saw me and @GRONK on our way up north on a 3 hour drive to try our hand at the decommissioned oil rig known as Brent Charlie. Although the rig is decommissioned and currently being dismantled it stuck out like a sore thumb in its surroundings even with no lights on. After a while figuring out different ways to approach and walking through a swap we managed to enter unnoticed. There were cameras all around the perimeter so we expected it to be no different on site, however we were pleased to see minimal surveillance covering the inside of the site with barely any facing the rig itself.
With decom on going we expected there to be a straightforward way onto the rig for the workers to use throughout the day and were pleased to see a humongous scaffolding structure with an internal makeshift stairwell leading to the top. This was next to a generator with floodlights pointing directly at it but surprisingly again no cameras around. We made our way up the stairs getting around the halfway mark when an almighty alarm went off, it seemed to be coming from the rig itself. At this point we decided to get up top and hide on the rig itself hoping to be out of sight before any security would arrive and maybe they would think the high winds were responsible for the alarm being triggered?.
We made it on with no response from below and waited for a while before moving to the other side. We had no torches on hoping to go by unnoticed for as long as possible until the voice of a disgruntled man from below began to shout, demanding us to get down and informing us the police were on their way. We quickly discussed what to do and decided we wanted to at least see the helipad before the police arrived.
A quick look around the inside revealed a building site with some maintenance rooms already cleared of equipment. We made it to the helipad and began to explore what we could before blue lights arrived and we could see at least two police cars driving onto site. We decided not to stay for long as there was no way to escape without defeating gravity and the police would hopefully be friendlier if we didn't keep them standing out in the cold for hours.
As we headed back down the security guard insisted on shouting a load of bollox and the loud alarm went off again roughly at the halfway mark although we couldn't actually see where it was. We reached the bottom and were met with a security guard that stupidly kept asking us how we got up there and continued asking after I pointed out there was the world's largest climbing frame right in front of him.
The police were some of the nicest and reasonable ive met and were interested in the rig themselves, understanding our motivations to get up there but also reluctantly having to reel off the same spiel of the possible dangers. After being driven off site we decided to get some external shots in the cold, when the other car that was on site came over. We were expecting some form of bollocking for not leaving but they were just checking if we had broken down and needed a hand. Why can't all unnecessary police responses be met with this manner?.
We drove home happy with what we had done but also wishing we had just hid out for longer as we no doubt would have spent all night in the place.
(Apoliges for lack of/quality of photos)
The Brent Charlie oil platform, part of the Brent oil field operated by Shell UK Limited, was installed in June 1978 as the last of four platforms (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta) in the North Sea. Located 186 km northeast of Lerwick, Shetland Islands, the platform ceased production in March 2021 after nearly 40 years of operation.
Brent Charlie featured a concrete base with 19 oil production wells, nine water injection wells, and six gas injection wells. It had a production capacity of 150,000 barrels of oil per day and 8.5 million standard cubic meters of gas per day. The topsides, weighing 34,000 tonnes, included processing facilities and accommodation for 120 personnel.
In July 2024, the Pioneering Spirit vessel removed the 31,000-tonne topsides in a single lift, the heaviest offshore platform lift on record. This concluded the Brent topsides removal campaign, which also included the Delta (2017), Bravo (2018), and Alpha (2020) platforms.
The topsides were transported to Able Seaton Port, Hartlepool, UK, for dismantling and recycling, a process expected to take 18 months and contribute to local employment and recycling efforts.
Explore
Friday evening saw me and @GRONK on our way up north on a 3 hour drive to try our hand at the decommissioned oil rig known as Brent Charlie. Although the rig is decommissioned and currently being dismantled it stuck out like a sore thumb in its surroundings even with no lights on. After a while figuring out different ways to approach and walking through a swap we managed to enter unnoticed. There were cameras all around the perimeter so we expected it to be no different on site, however we were pleased to see minimal surveillance covering the inside of the site with barely any facing the rig itself.
With decom on going we expected there to be a straightforward way onto the rig for the workers to use throughout the day and were pleased to see a humongous scaffolding structure with an internal makeshift stairwell leading to the top. This was next to a generator with floodlights pointing directly at it but surprisingly again no cameras around. We made our way up the stairs getting around the halfway mark when an almighty alarm went off, it seemed to be coming from the rig itself. At this point we decided to get up top and hide on the rig itself hoping to be out of sight before any security would arrive and maybe they would think the high winds were responsible for the alarm being triggered?.
We made it on with no response from below and waited for a while before moving to the other side. We had no torches on hoping to go by unnoticed for as long as possible until the voice of a disgruntled man from below began to shout, demanding us to get down and informing us the police were on their way. We quickly discussed what to do and decided we wanted to at least see the helipad before the police arrived.
A quick look around the inside revealed a building site with some maintenance rooms already cleared of equipment. We made it to the helipad and began to explore what we could before blue lights arrived and we could see at least two police cars driving onto site. We decided not to stay for long as there was no way to escape without defeating gravity and the police would hopefully be friendlier if we didn't keep them standing out in the cold for hours.
As we headed back down the security guard insisted on shouting a load of bollox and the loud alarm went off again roughly at the halfway mark although we couldn't actually see where it was. We reached the bottom and were met with a security guard that stupidly kept asking us how we got up there and continued asking after I pointed out there was the world's largest climbing frame right in front of him.
The police were some of the nicest and reasonable ive met and were interested in the rig themselves, understanding our motivations to get up there but also reluctantly having to reel off the same spiel of the possible dangers. After being driven off site we decided to get some external shots in the cold, when the other car that was on site came over. We were expecting some form of bollocking for not leaving but they were just checking if we had broken down and needed a hand. Why can't all unnecessary police responses be met with this manner?.
We drove home happy with what we had done but also wishing we had just hid out for longer as we no doubt would have spent all night in the place.
(Apoliges for lack of/quality of photos)
Last edited:
