In 1977 I had a year offshore working as a materials controller on the Brent Delta oil rig. The company I worked for was called Vauldale Engineers based at Portrack in Stockton. They had the contract to supply the Electrical installations for the oil rig. Many of the chaps I worked with came from the Stockton area.
Turn the clock forward 40 years and the now redundant Brent Delta was towed to Hartlepool to be scrapped at the Able Wharf facility. All 24000 tons of it. They were saying there would be a 97% recycling rate for this tonnage. These two pictures show the rig in position in the North Sea. Moored next to it was the accommodation barge the Nortrym. Normally attached to the Brent Delta by the clearly seen bridge the Nortrym only moved away during stormy weather. I recall spending a night or two sleeping on the floor of the Brent Delta. You had to use your boots as a pillow or they could ”walk” during the night.
Photographs and details courtesy of Martin Birtle.
Picture Stockton Archive 
This was built, or parts of it, at Cleveland offshore, at Haverton Hill, I worked on the load out structure design, massive plate girders designed to lift the modules on to hydraulic trailers and walk it on to the barge
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I remember Americans telling me that the highest point on a rig was a platform on the flare tower called “The Geronimo Jump”. If the flare went off while anyone was working up there, all you could expect was someone shouting “Geronimo” and heading towards the sea
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What fantastic constructions these rigs are. Like something from science fiction.
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I worked out there at about the same time too Martin, but as an Instrument Pipe fitter. It was about the only work available at the time.
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