OGA urges more coordinated well decommissioning in UK waters

Offshore staff

LONDON – Britain’s Oil and Gas Authority has implemented one centralized location for well data related to UK offshore decommissioning.

The data – already publicly available – has been consolidated to raise awareness about suspended wells awaiting decommissioning on the UK continental shelf.

According to the OGA, this will help the supply chain and operators to identify wells that might be suited to a decommissioning campaign (aggregating individual projects into a larger program).

Campaign-based well decommissioning projects can lead to substantial cost savings compared to programs directed at individual wells, especially if multiple operators are prepared to engage together.

Mobilization costs can be spread across several wells, and the time taken to do the work reduced through operational efficiencies.

Wells accounts for nearly half of the total UKCS decommissioning cost estimate.

The OGA’s data includes lists of suspended open water wells (exploration and appraisal), along with the location and owners; and of suspended inactive wells (from fields that have ceased production), with the location, number of wells, and operator.

Initially, the OGA will focus on encouraging shared campaigns in the UK central North Sea, where there is a large number of suspended wells, and the East Irish Sea off northwest England and North Wales, where mobilization/transit costs are higher.

Joe Leask, decommissioning manager at Oil and Gas UK, said: “Campaigning well decommissioning scopes helps us manage our costs more effectively and would help provide continuity of work for our hard-pressed supply chain.”

11/25/2020