Kinsale's 42-year gas production to end after multi-million euro decommissioning project

The decommissioning operation involves 400 people and specialised equipment brought from the Netherlands. It is the biggest offshore operation since the platforms were built in the 1970s.

The Stena Spey Drill Rig with a support vessel at the decommissioning of the Kinsale gas fields. At peak production in the mid-1990s, the Celtic Sea field had 24 wells. Photo: Kinsale Energy.

A multi-million euro decommissioning operation involving up to 400 people is underway off the South coast to plug the Kinsale field gas wells, which have supplied the country with almost two trillion cubic feet of gas since they opened in 1978.

Mike Murray, head of engineering and projects for Kinsale Energy, which operated the fields, said seven wells connected to the Alpha platform had been plugged with concrete. The other seven connected to the Bravo platform should be plugged by the end of this month. Thousands of tonnes of concrete are being used to cap the wells.