Non-intrusive waste removal from a 2nd stage separator on a North Sea platform – advanced HP jetting and diesel-driven vacuum skips cleared stored waste, reused treated water and delivered a fully compliant, low-exposure cleaning solution
Sector: Offshore oil & gas – production
Location: Cormorant Alpha, North Sea
Client: Major North Sea operator (anonymised)
Services: Non-intrusive vessel cleaning, HP jetting, diesel vacuum transfer, water treatment and reuse, compliant waste management
Overview
The operator needed stored waste removed from the 2nd stage separator on Cormorant Alpha without sending personnel inside the vessel. The objective was to agitate and remove accumulated sand, sludge and fluids safely and efficiently, using Sureclean’s advanced jetting and vacuum technologies.
How did Sureclean deliver?
Sureclean engineered a fully non-intrusive cleaning setup:
- Deployed a diesel-driven high-flow HP retro-jetting unit to mobilise and agitate waste inside the separator.
- Used a diesel-driven vacuum pump to extract the mobilised waste into vacuum skips.
- Fitted a Y-piece to the belly drain, running a jetting hose through one branch and a vacuum hose through the other, creating a controlled agitation-and-removal loop with no man entry.
All equipment was regularly maintained and operated by trained personnel, under stringent safety and environmental controls.
What did Sureclean achieve?
The combined jetting and vacuum system:
- Mobilised and removed all stored waste from the 2nd stage separator.
- Allowed vacuum skips to settle and be skimmed, with spent oils and fluids pumped to tote tanks or client-designated drain points.
- Sent remaining water through the Sureclean Water Treatment Unit, enabling reuse where suitable and minimising liquid waste.
All waste streams were:
- Monitored, sampled and treated for either offshore or onshore disposal.
- Managed under strict environmental and regulatory compliance, with full documentation.
A pre-mobilisation site test successfully proved the non-intrusive vessel cleaning / de-sanding service, giving the client confidence before full deployment.
Results
Sureclean’s non-intrusive setup delivered a clean separator and a clean paper trail:
- All stored waste fully removed from the 2nd Stage Separator without man entry, restoring operational capacity and integrity.
- Zero confined-space exposure for client or contractor personnel, significantly reducing HSE risk.
- Fluids and oily water recovered and treated, with process water routed through the Sureclean Water Treatment Unit for reuse, cutting freshwater demand and liquid waste volumes.
- Solid residues captured in vacuum skips, settled, skimmed and dispatched via licensed routes in full environmental compliance.
- No incidents or unplanned downtime, with work completed within the agreed window and fully documented for regulatory and internal audit requirements.
The campaign proved the effectiveness of Sureclean’s non-intrusive vessel cleaning service, giving the operator a repeatable method for future separator and process-vessel waste removal.
What this shows about Sureclean
This project demonstrates Sureclean’s ability to deliver complex, multi-area vessel decontamination in a live decommissioning environment:
- Confined-space, benzene-risk work under tight safety and environmental control
- Integrated cleaning and waste management that protects both people and programme
- The resilience to adapt to changing conditions – from winter weather to surprise waste – while still handing over certified-clean vessels with zero incidents.
