Knowledge Centre
Market Insight
Oil & Gas UK currently has involvement in two projects aimed at bringing together knowledge on experience of decommissioning activities:
Decommissioning Steering Group
Oil & Gas UK has established a Decommissioning Steering Group (DSG) to drive and co-ordinate the many strands of work on decommissioning currently being carried out by the industry. The new group will also help promote a broader understanding of the issues, plans and costs involved in decommissioning.
While decommissioning will continue to represent a relatively small proportion of the overall investment being made in oil and gas development and production for at least the next decade, it is clear that companies will be starting to look at plans to take a growing number of offshore installations out of commission as their assets approach the end of operations. The DSG allows the industry to address the issues of decommissioning within the context of continuing activities aimed at maximising the recovery of UKCS resources.
The new group is a high–level, pan-industry forum, comprising representatives from operator and contractor companies. Drawing on more than 12 years of decommissioning experience in the North Sea, it provides a platform for sharing lessons and exploring in more detail the areas that need to be addressed as decommissioning activities increase. It will build upon current research and past joint industry projects, as well as embarking on a broad spectrum of technical studies, to oversee further work through issue-focused task groups.
The group will engage with industry partners including Decom North Sea and the Industry Technology Facilitator, as well as its regulator, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and other key external stakeholders. There are currently four task groups under its umbrella, concentrating on:
- Dealing with the fiscal aspects of decommissioning, specifically tax reliefs and the posting of securities. This group is leading industry discussions with HM Treasury on the subject
- Consolidating the industry’s understanding of the safety, environmental and societal requirements of the regulatory regime
- Enhancing the efficiency of execution through building up the capacity and capability of the supply chain
- Co-ordinating the communications on behalf of each of these work streams.
UK Decommissioning Insight
The Oil & Gas UK 2011 Economic Report states that there are 470 installations and 10,000 km of pipelines on the UKCS which will eventually be decommissioned. The 2011 Decommissioning Insight provides information to enhance understanding of the decommissioning market and is available here.
