Decommissioning Insight 2018

4.2 Regional Expenditure

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Figure 6: UKCS Decommissioning Expenditure Breakdown

West of Shetland 7%

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Southern North Sea and Irish Sea 15%

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Central North Sea 48%

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Northern North Sea 30%

Source: Oil & Gas UK, OGA

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The portion of expenditure in the southern North Sea has reduced from last year’s forecast, which reported that 19 per cent of the cost would be spent in this region. This is for two reasons: 2017 and 2018 saw a high level of well decommissioning activity in the area, with 83 wells decommissioned, meaning there is now less work to carry out; in addition, the work carried out enabled new efficiencies, repetitive gains and project experience, leading to a reduction in the days spent decommissioning each well. It is hoped that the experience gained in the southern sector can be transferred to the central and northern areas. The proportion of expenditure also highlights the complexity of the work to be carried out in the central, northern and west of Shetland regions. While there are a large number of installations in the southern North Sea, the shallower waters mean installations are smaller and decommissioning projects are generally less complex than the large installations found further north.

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