OGUK Decom Insight Report 2021

An industry in action – the industry demonstrated resilience in 2020 despite the challenges presented by the global pandemic and volatile commodity prices. Figure 1 shows that the UK industry is actively dealingwith everything fromwell decommissioning and platform and jacket removals to subsea infrastructure decommissioning projects for the coming few years. There are signs of market recovery – The UK oil and gas industry saw lower expenditure in 2020 and this was true of the decommissioning sector too. As Figure 1 shows, the reduction hit well decommissioning hardest. These projects are expensive owing to the number of people and the kind of equipment needed. Last year, only 84 wells were decommissioned on the UKCS, whereas a typical year sees around 150. This year, 150 wells are forecast to be decommissioned, which is a sign of market recovery. From 2022 to 2024 the forecast shows business returning to its usual pace. With annual expenditures just over £1.5 billion, it is anticipated that almost 600 wells and around 45 topsides and jacket structures will be decommissioned. It is also anticipated that 69km of pipelines, almost 6,000 tonnes of subsea structures and just over 4,000 mattresses will all be removed. An evolving industry - As the oil and gas industry evolves into an integrated energy industry, it will play a vital role in the nation’s climate ambitions. Continued investment in barrel-adding activity to maximise economic recovery and energy transition projects, like asset electrification, to meet stringent emissions reductions targets, will impact decommissioning activity, and therefore this report will continue to provide valuable insight.

Survey methodology Data for Decommissioning Insight 2021 have been provided by all 31 operators across the UKCS as part of the Asset Stewardship Survey, overseen by the Oil & Gas Authority (OGA). The survey collates information from all UK operators between November and February each year. The forecasts in this report are provided by operators and represent their best estimates at the time of the survey. Timings are therefore subject to change.

For the first time ever, the data have been consolidated using PowerBI, providing the ability to gain insights in more granular detail. This report is accompanied by an online tool where the user can access and view the data in an interactive way. This allows operators to compare their own data with their peers’, and the supply chain to tailor data visualisations to its own business needs and so build better business cases.

OGUK's Interactive Decommissioning Toolkit Scan the QR code above or visit oguk.org.uk/decommissioning

DECOMMISSIONING INSIGHT 2021

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