The Q7000 Heavy Well Intervention vessel (pictured) was used to plug and formally abandon wells across Tui Oil Field as part of the decommissioning project. Photo: Supplied / MBIE
The last of the ill-fated Tui Oil Field's subsea infrastructure has been removed and returned to shore, bringing to a close its decommissioning.
The Tui field was deserted in 2019 after the financial collapse of Tamarind Taranaki, leaving the Crown with a $300 million bill for its safe decommissioning.
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment set up the Tui Project to oversee the process in 2020.
It said there has been a huge effort behind the scenes to make it safe, and removed about 700 tonnes of infrastructure from the subsea environment.
Attention now turns to post-decommissioning environmental monitoring.