The North Sea oil and gas industry spent £1.6 billion decommissioning redundant wells and infrastructure last year, more than in any of the previous five years, new figures show.
Activity levels are expected to remain high, increasing to about £2 billion a year over the next decade, with 70 per cent of the work secured by 海角视频 suppliers.
Described as a massive opportunity to keep developing skills while giving British companies the chance to hone expertise and win lucrative contracts overseas, reinforcing its status as a global leader, challenges are also in play. Offshore wind’s rapid emergence has led to heightened demand for equipment, vessels and services, pushing up prices.
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The total cost estimate has increased to £40 billion, but industry leaders are confident it can be brought down to £33.3 billion within five years. It has led to calls for greater collaboration and sharing of data and insight, as well as embracing new technologies and innovative commercial models. The likes of Rough, off East Yorkshire, is being considered for hydrogen storage, having returned to use to ramp up security in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while carbon capture and strorage is another huge growth area.
Pauline Innes, NSTA Director of Supply Chain and Decommissioning, said: “The North Sea decommissioning sector is highly active and productive, and the industry is ideally placed to realise the massive £21 billion opportunity which will come its way over the next 10 years.
“However, operators must redouble their commitment to collaborate with the supply chain and plan even more effectively if they are to overcome challenging market conditions and remain competitive on cost. The NSTA will continue to use its powers and influence to support the industry as it strives for continuous improvement, including through the development of new benchmarks.”
And the latest Decommissioning Cost and Performance Report from the North Sea Transition Authority underlines the importance of ensuring infrastructure couldn’t play a future role in the wider energy transition.
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Bob Fennell, who co-chairs the Decommissioning and Repurposing Task Force within NSTA, is North Sea executive vice president at Harbour Energy. It has just had its Viking CCS and Acorn projects selected as a Track Two status carbon capture and storage clusters. Both are to use existing infrastructure, with the first focused on the Lincolnshire Offshore Gas Gathering System and an overhaul of the Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal to clean up the 海角视频's most carbon intensive industrial zone.
Mr Fennell said: “It is critical that North Sea operators work together to ensure that oil and gas assets which, at the end of their production life, cannot be repurposed to support new technologies like carbon capture and storage, are decommissioned safely and in the most cost-effective manner. Collaborating and sharing data is an important first step to providing the supply chain with the visibility and confidence they require to meet 海角视频 demand for such works in a timely and cost-competitive way.”