Decommissioning Insight 2019

DECOMMISSIONING INSIGHT 2019

One hundred and twenty-two topsides are slated for removal in the UKCS over the next decade, representing almost 880,000 tonnes of material. This is greater than last year’s dataset, which anticipated that 605,024 tonnes of material would be removed. This is also the first forecast in which the bulk of the weight due to be removed is located in the northern North Sea region, where 18 topsides comprising some 425,208 tonnes of material are due to be removed. The dataset shows a steady workload, fluctuating around 12 assets per year, followed by a peak of 24 topsides in 2027. As would be expected, most of the topsides slated for removal are in the SNS and IS region. Only around one or two assets are expected to be removed in the NNS, west of Shetland and CNS up to 2025, when activity picks up. In contrast, most of the weight of topsides material to be removed (78 per cent) is in the NNS, west of Shetland and CNS regions, providing some indication of the size of installations in this area in comparison with the topsides in the SNS and IS. The data up until 2025 show a steady and sustainable workload. As often happens when such data are provided, activity is bunched at the end of the ten-year window. It is very unlikely, given supply chain capacity, that ten topsides would be removed in the NNS, west of Shetland and CNS regions as forecast in 2027; once these projects come closer, the peaks seen at the end of the ten-year dataset will begin to smooth, as seen at the front end of the forecast.

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