Decommissioning Insight 2018

DECOMMISSIONING INSIGHT 2018

8.10 Site Remediation Once the decommissioning of the topsides, substructures, pipelines and associated subsea infrastructure have been completed, operators are required to ensure that the seabed is made safe for third-party users of the sea. This involves the removal of any debris remaining around the facility as agreed within the Decommissioning Programme.

After completing the offshore decommissioning works, an independent organisation is required to complete a seabed verification trial. These

usually entail a fishing vessel undertaking a trawl trial over the site from numerous approaches, using various representative fishing equipment. However, verification could also be conducted with survey equipment which can detect and analyse any features remaining on the seabed. Within one year of a post-decommissioning survey, a Decommissioning Programme Close Out Report is required to be submitted for regulatory approval. This report is required to satisfy OPRED that the approved programme has been carried out and describe any scope modifications required during execution. Close Out Reports are a key reference where learnings from decommissioning projects are shared.

Site remediation activities represent a total of 1.2 per cent of the forecast decommissioning expenditure over the next ten years, or around £186 million.

8.11 Post-Decommissioning Monitoring Monitoring programmes are required for any infrastructure that is left in place under the Decommissioning Programme. Surveys will be conducted to check the status of infrastructure and assess changes over time to ensure no increased risk to other users of the sea. The frequency of these surveys will be determined in consultation with the regulator. Typically, an owner will assume a frequency for these surveys in their decommissioning cost estimates.

The total forecast expenditure for post-decommissioning monitoring up to 2027 is £77 million, or 0.5 per cent of total expenditure.

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