Gel displacement supports subsea flowline decommissioning

Halliburton applied a chemically engineered gel displacement system to remove hydrocarbons from late-life subsea flowlines in the North Sea while adjacent infrastructure remained in production. The method avoided the need for diver intervention, pig launcher-receiver equipment, and production shutdowns, providing a safe and efficient alternative where conventional cleanup methods were impractical. The project demonstrates a repeatable, regulatory-compliant approach for decommissioning mature subsea assets under complex operational constraints.