NSTA acts to improve clarity on North Sea decommissioning needs
Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK — The UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has updated its Decommissioning Data Visibility Dashboard.
This now includes field-specific information provided by 15 operators: bp, CNOOC International, CNR International, Dana Petroleum, Eni UK, EnQuest, Harbour Energy, Neptune Energy, One-Dyas, Repsol Resources UK, Shell, Spirit Energy, TAQA, TotalEnergies and Waldorf Production.
According to the NSTA, the interactive dashboard gives suppliers confidence to invest in technologies and training, with information on the operators’ UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) decommissioning portfolios and their upcoming work schedules.
Based on data from the annual UKCS Stewardship Survey, the service also reveals how many wells, subsea structures and pipelines will likely be decommissioned over the next five years, along with the weight of platforms to be removed.
Operators can also use the data to identify opportunities to decommission wells more economically via jointly coordinated campaigns.
Efffective planning is vital to ensure that resources are available when needed, the NSTA said. It aims to cut the overall cost of decommissioning UKCS oil and gas infrastructure by 10% to £33.3 billion ($42 billion) by year-end 2028.
In the process, this would also reduce the burden of tax relief for the sector met by the UK Exchequer, with the savings redirected to new energy investments, which can be invested in energy security and net-zero projects.
Scott Barr, Harbour's executive vice president, North Sea, said, “This dashboard will help provide the supply chain with the visibility and confidence they need to deliver UK decommissioning works in a timely and cost-competitive way. It will also enable organizations to better understand future demand for skills and resources and to further increase their capacity to invest in technology and training programs accordingly.”
03.01.2024
