OGA calls for greater collaboration on UK offshore decommissioning

Offshore staff

LONDON – Britain’s Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has warned that UK offshore decommissioning could become more expensive.

In its new Decommissioning Strategy, the authority warns that fragmented ownership of facilities and fluctuating commodity prices could inhibit development of a cost-efficient market.

To foster a more competitive and sustainable decommissioning sector, the OGA calls for:

• A more collaborative culture between operators and supply chain, including new procurement models.
• Use of campaigns under which operators coordinate multiple projects, particularly in well decommissioning, to increase the scope for cost reduction and at the same time provide the supply chain with greater certainty on projects.
• Data transparency: The OGA will continue to provide as much data as possible for infrastructure owners and the supply chain, ensuring all major upcoming decommissioning projects are visible to the supply chain via the Energy Pathfinder tool.

The Strategy also stresses the importance of decommissioning to the UK’s energy transition to net zero emission, and highlights opportunities to re-use or repurpose infrastructure and reservoirs.

Pauline Innes, Head of Decommissioning at the OGA, said: “What this revision does reflects the current state of decommissioning in the basin and integrates energy transition as a key priority. Now, if redundant infrastructure has the potential for reuse, we will flag that to the operators, and if it is to be decommissioned then we see great win-win opportunity.”

05/11/2021