Islay Partners With Well-Safe For North Sea Decommissioning

Islay Subsurface & Engineering has formed a strategic partnership with Well-Safe Solutions to undertake decommissioning projects across the North Sea. The collaboration specifically targets work on the Beryl and Forties fields, marking a significant expansion of their joint operational capabilities in the region.

The two organisations signed an agreement to focus on Apache projects, which have been described as one of the largest well decommissioning contracts awarded in the sector to date. Iain Whyte, managing director at Islay, stated that this coalition unites complementary areas of expertise between both firms. Well-Safe chief executive Phil Milton noted that their previous collaborations with clients such as Trident Energy had proven extremely successful.

Well-Safe was recently awarded decommissioning work on two major North Sea assets belonging to Apache. Combined, these contracts require the Aberdeen rig operator to manage more than 260 wells. Earlier this year, the company also secured a contract as well operator for an unnamed client in the UK sector, deploying its Well-Safe Defender semi-submersible rig.

The partnership aims to enhance integrated offerings for current and future clients by combining industry-leading engineering with specialist subsurface knowledge. Islay contributes capabilities spanning geology, geophysics, petrophysics, reservoir engineering, and integrated studies. This combination ensures that engineering decisions are informed by robust understanding of the subsurface environment.

The team has previously engaged in cross-operator collaboration projects with the Net Zero Technology Centre to address decommissioning costs. That initiative was shortlisted for an award at the 2026 SPE Offshore Achievement Awards, highlighting the ongoing commitment to innovation and efficiency within the industry.