The huge refurbished dry dock at Kishorn Port is the only facility of its kind in the UK ready to accept major North Sea decommissioning projects, the Oil and gas Authority’s (OGA’s) head of supply chain Bill Cattanach has said.
Mr Cattanach’s comment, following confirmation from Kishorn Port director Simon Russell that the company was dealing with a number of “live inquiries” raised further hopes of the Wester Ross site winning new work that could create hundreds of jobs in the area.
He was speaking at an event held at Kishorn by the OGA, development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and its owners to showcase the dry dock and port facilities to around 90 delegates from the oil and gas industry.
Last week, Dales Voe in Shetland was identified in a Scottish Government study as the best place in the UK to build an ultra-deep-water port for scrapping large offshore structures, and Mr Cattanach said Kishorn had a future as a complementary facility.
“It’s not about picking winners, it’s about making sure we have the right infrastructure,” he said.
The dry dock, which is 525ft in diameter, was last used to construct caissons for the Skye Bridge in 1993.
Kishorn Port is a joint venture formed in 2008 by Ferguson Transport (Spean Bridge) and quarry firm Leiths (Scotland) which both have operations there.
The dry dock was restored to full working order in a £450,000 project, backed by the Scottish Government and HIE and completed last year as part of a multi-million-pound upgrade of the facilities.
As well as decommissioning work, it is hoped the site will be used to build concrete structures for the offshore wind sector.
Mr Russell said yesterday that as well as “one or two” live inquiries about decommissioning projects, Kishorn Port was currently dealing with another for the “warm stacking” of a rig in waters nearby.
HIE energy and low carbon director Audrey MacIver said: “The dock has huge potential, particularly in the decommissioning of floating structures and platforms which can be removed in a single lift, renewables and aquaculture.
“It would be great to see it coming to life again, providing valuable rural jobs, contributing to both economic and community growth and the wider competitiveness of the region.”
Senior managers from Fort William aluminium smelter owner Liberty Steel attended yesterday’s event to discuss plans to recycle steel from decommissioned structures.
