By Mike Tholen – upstream policy director, Oil & Gas UK
It’s a busy week for decommissioning with our London business briefing focusing on this emerging sector of the industry and we’re also anticipating the publication of the Oil and Gas Authority’s (OGA) 2018 UKCS Decommissioning Cost Estimate report.
In the year since the Brent Delta platform came ashore for dismantling, its past and present owners have found there isn’t much that can’t be reused or given away.
Bosses at Aberdeen harbour said oil and gas remained at the heart of their strategy despite continued efforts to connect with new customers and markets.
With the panel session completed, the last business card exchanged and another memorable Decom Offshore conference drawn to a close, I think I have just enough energy left to reflect on what’s been an important week for Decom North Sea.
A scrap metal company that supplied 15 miles of old North Sea pipes for the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) has called for incentives for the oil and gas industry to increase the amount of reused material from decommissioned assets.
By Paul Wheelhouse, Scottish Government Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy.
I recently visited the Oil and Gas Technology Centre’s Decommissioning Centre of Excellence in Aberdeen to see how the Centre will support the significant opportunities that the decommissioning market presents for Scotland.
Maersk has announced the creation of a dedicated decommissioning company in order to take a major share of work to shut down North Sea assets in coming years.
The chief executive of Dundeecom is hoping to create a research and development network for entrepreneurs and academics to share decommissioning ideas.
A specialist in oil and gas law has warned that a lack of clarity over a strategy to maximise oil recovery from the North Sea could cause issues when it comes to decommissioning.