The UK government should take action to help restart the Gryphon floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, Unite has said.
The trade union wrote a letter to energy minister Michael Shanks calling operator TotalEnergies’ decision to shut down production from the vessel at the start of the year ‘premature’.
It added that the move puts around 200 jobs at immediate risk.
TotalEnergies filed its decommissioning plan in 2023, which called for stopping production from Gryphon on 31 December 2024 ahead of decommissioning activities taking place from 2025.
Nobel Upstream, which owns stakes in two fields tied back to the vessel, has previously voiced its opposition to the decision and has filed a lawsuit to stop its decommissioning.
Unite said the ongoing lawsuits, with a judicial review likely to begin early this summer, have put the Gryphon FPSO in legal and regulatory limbo – not producing, but unable to undergo decommissioning.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite has been demanding the UK government produces a concrete plan with real jobs for the transition of North Sea workers.”
“The Gryphon case just like at Grangemouth underscores what Unite has been saying about preventing viable oil and gas assets from being prematurely decommissioned or closed down years ahead of schedule without a plan in place.”
In addition, the union said that it believes the Gryphon case is undermining UK energy security as the NSTA and UK government jointly fail to prevent premature decommissioning plans by operators while economically viable licences remain in place.
Unite Scottish secretary Derek Thomson said: “The NSTA has shown itself to be toothless in the case of the Gryphon. It is supposed to ensure that oil and gas fields deliver maximum economic recovery in a way consistent with UK law. That is clearly not happening with the Gryphon.”
“If TotalEnergies premature decommissioning plan gets approval, it could have a devastating domino effect across the North Sea. Thousands of jobs in the oil and gas sector are under threat and that’s why re-starting the Gryphon is key to stabilising the sector.”
The Gryphon FPSO is connected to five fields, including Gryphon North and South along with subsea tiebacks to the Maclure, Tullich and Ballindaloch fields.
The Gryphon Alpha was the North Sea’s first purpose built permanently moored FPSO, based around 100 miles southeast of Shetland. It has been continuously operating for over 30 years since being installed in 1993.
TotalEnergies inherited the asset through its 2018 of takeover Maersk.
The French energy giant holds an 86.5% operating interest in the asset, alongside Sojitz Energy Development (13.5%).
Nobel Upstream has previously offered to buy the Gryphon FPSO to continue production from the asset.
