LONDON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Oil company Shell intendsto start a 10-year process to dismantle and remove one ofBritain's oldest and biggest oil platforms, Brent Delta, thecompany said on Tuesday.
Britain's North Sea basin is one of the most mature oil andgas production areas in the world and many of its oldest fieldsare approaching the end of their operational life.
Decommissioning about 500 offshore installations and 10,000kilometres of pipelines is expected to cost 10.4 billion pounds ($15.7 billion) by 2022, according to industry estimates.
Shell has submitted plans to the government to start thedecommissioning process of its old Brent platforms, startingwith the removal of the above-water topside at Brent Delta, thecompany said on Tuesday.
Brent Delta stopped producing oil in November 2011 and afterseveral years of assessing alternative uses for the platformShell decided decommissioning was the best way forward.
The remainder of the Brent field, whose platforms Alpha andBravo stopped producing oil last November, is expected to bedecomissioned in a second phase. ($1 = 0.6637 pounds) (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; editing by David Clarke)
