Breaking ties: a new chapter in the Endeavour story
It’s difficult to overstate the significance of the Northern Endeavour decommissioning project. It’s significant for Petrofac, significant for Australia, and significant for the global decommissioning sector. With Phase 1 of the project nearing completion, the team has been reflecting on the lessons learnt and what they mean for the future.
A little bit of background
Petrofac’s involvement took off in October 2022. That’s when the company was contracted by the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) to deliver Phase 1 of the decommissioning project. But the story dates back quite a bit further and helps to explain the complexity of the task.
The fact is, the Northern Endeavour has a complicated history. Moored between the Laminaria and Corallina oil fields, 550km Northwest of Darwin in the Timor Sea, the FPSO was originally installed in the late-1990s and once processed 190,000 barrels of oil a day. In 2019 a regulatory inspection found it to be in degraded state and insisted it was shut down, citing an immediate threat to health and safety. With the private operator falling into liquidation, the Australian Government took responsibility for the Northern Endeavour facility and initiated a global procurement exercise to select a suitable partner to deliver the FPSO disconnection and decommissioning outcomes.
The Northern Endeavour’s last link
The Northern Endeavour is anchored about 550 kilometres north-west of Darwin. (ABC)
Since then, the Petrofac team, in partnership with the DISR, has been working through a measured, methodical and painstaking process – first to assess the true condition of the Northern Endeavour, which was already 20% beyond its 20-year design life and had lain largely dormant for several years, then to engage the right team of specialist service providers, make the vessel safe, and prepare for its departure.
This diagram shows the Northern Endeavour moored between the Corallina and Laminaria oil fields. Copyright Australian Government Department if Industry, Science and Resources.
A turning point for the project
A watershed moment came in April 2025 when the Northern Endeavour was safely disconnected from its umbilical and riser pipelines – which, for the previous three decades, had connected the FPSO to nine deepwater wells lying around 400 metres below the surface of the water.
As Chris Bettridge, Petrofac’s Wells and Decommissioning Manager, explains, this has overcome one of the biggest risk factors of the project: “When you disconnect an FPSO, risk is significantly reduced, as there is no way that hydrocarbons can flow in or out of the FPSO. This removes any chance of a major hydrocarbon release and reduces potential hazards for those working on board.”
The Northern Endeavour FPSO, moored in the Timor Sea, about 550 kilometres north-west of Darwin.
A remote operated vehicle (ROV) is lowered out of the hanger of the Skandi Hercules into the water to undertake the cutting of the risers.
The live feed from the remote operated vehicle (ROV) on a monitor with the riser cutting device around a riser preparing to cut.
Since then, having overcome a period without power, the teams have moved on to the next challenge and are being kept busy with shortening the riser tails and cleaning the hull of the vessel. Then, later in the year, the Northern Endeavour’s nine mooring chains will be cut, and it will head to Singapore for additional works prior to being dry towed to a facility for recycling.
Importantly, it’s been a partnership approach from the outset, based on strong relationships with Australian government agencies. As Chris says: “Everything we do is in lockstep with DISR and the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority to make sure strict safety and environmental protections are in place.”
One of the keys to the Petrofac approach
Many people think of decommissioning as a distinct, standalone project – something that happens once production ceases, and the operational teams have departed.
Petrofac argues that, ideally, decommissioning should be closely integrated with late-life asset management. That way, it becomes possible to squeeze every drop of economically viable production from an asset, while simultaneously planning for its managed decline, identifying those components that can be repurposed or re-used, and working out the details of the eventual plugging and abandonment and, ultimately, the removal of all infrastructure.
With a project like the Northern Endeavour, this isn’t possible. But the next best thing is to approach the task with an operator’s mindset and, ideally, direct operational knowledge – because it’s the operations teams who know an asset best and can be invaluable in informing the decommissioning process.
To this end, one of the key people on the project is Petrofac Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) Brendan White, who has known the facility for 25 years, been based onboard since 2019, and can guide the remediation work with an expert eye.
He explains: “I first saw the Northern Endeavour in 2000 when she was the jewel in the crown, producing up to 190,000 barrels of oil per day. Twenty-five years later, she’s a bit long in the tooth and faces challenges, but we’ve got a diverse skillset of personnel preparing the vessel for its departure from the field.”
Brendan White, OIM, Northern Endeavour.
Reflecting on the strategic significance
So, why is the Northern Endeavour project so significant?
It is significant to Petrofac, because it builds on our deep decommissioning experience, provides a further demonstration of our unique skillset, and applies it in another geography. As Josie Philips, Petrofac’s Vice President (VP) for the Asia Pacific (APAC) region says: “I couldn’t be prouder of the team here in Australia. We’ve grown our in-country team to around 100 people to meet the demands of our clients and are continuing to expand our range of services with an emphasis on our world-class late-life asset management and decommissioning.”
It is significant to Australia because it marks the dawning of the country’s decommissioning journey. The government estimates that the sector could be worth as much as AUS$60billion and wants to build a strong domestic industry to capitalise on the opportunities, build local skills, and ensure that as much value as possible is retained within Australia.[1] It’s therefore important that this landmark project is concluded safely and sustainably and contributes to local skills development and capacity building.
It is significant to the global decommissioning sector because, in many ways, the industry is still finding its way. Many of the world’s 12,000 offshore oil and gas platforms are approaching the end of field life, the sector is currently valued at US$6.97 billion annually, and it is growing at more than 9% a year.[2] Yet it faces significant challenges, such as a skills shortage, a supply chain squeeze, and a need to find new economies – such as shared resources and streamlined approaches. A major project such as the Northern Endeavour decommissioning provides learnings that can benefit the wider sector while helping to extend and upskill the supply chain.
[2] Research & Markets, Offshore Decommissioning Market Report, 2025