A new approach to decommissioning needed in UKCS

Oil and gas operators will have to approach the challenge of decommissioning in new ways if the goal of maximising economic recovery from the UKCS is to be achieved, according to a new report from KPMG. The study indicates that adopting a more strategic approach to decisions regarding late life assets could open up significant new opportunities for operators, with key outcomes being breaking the log jam in mature asset sales and the creation of potentially new, end-to-end outsourced decommissioning services. Challenging economics, deteriorating infrastructure, technical limits on further recovery and regulatory pressure mean that change in the offshore industry in mature provinces, like the North Sea, is inevitable with industry forecasts predicting that the pace and scale of decommissioning activity is set to accelerate.
Petroleum Review will be looking at this issue in more detail in its October issue.