With more than 100 offshore platforms forecast for full or partial removal and 1,800 wells to be plugged over the next decade in the North Sea, decommissioning will be a special focus at a Scottish offshore energy conference next month.
As an increasing number of assets in the North Sea reach the end of their lifespan, the latest cost estimate from the British Oil and Gas Authority predicts that the cost of decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure is £59.7 billion – although the regulator wants the industry to collaborate with it and counterparts with an ambitious goal of completing this work for less than £39 billion.
The inaugural Decommissioning Zone at Offshore Europe in Aberdeen will spotlight presentations by Stephen Hall, Chief Executive of the Society for Underwater Technology; Pieter voor de Poorte, Subsea Decommissioning Lead at Edinburgh-registered Premier Oil – which has just confirmed a 1-billion barrel new oil field off Mexico – and Bill Cattanach, OBE, Head of Supply Chain at the British Oil & Gas Authority.
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