Oil & Gas UK Decommissioning Insight 2014

DECOMMISSIONING INSIGHT 2014

2. Key Findings

• In 2013, £470 million was spent on decommissioning.

• Total forecast expenditure on decommissioning from 2014 to 2023 is £14.6 billion 6 .

• Total forecast expenditure has increased since 2013 due to the following factors; £3 billion is attributed to new respondents to the survey and £1.2 billion is attributed to higher forecasts from existing projects.

• Twenty-eight operators responded to the call for data, which is an increase on previous years.

• Forty-three per cent of total forecast expenditure will be concentrated in the central North Sea (£6.3 billion). Many of the projects included in the 2014 survey for the first time are in this region. • Relative to the 2013 Decommissioning Insight report, six projects have been deferred with their expenditure now occurring partially outside of the survey timeframe. • Most of the decommissioning programmes captured in this survey are considered to be in the early scoping stages. Forecasts are therefore subject to change as projects become more defined. • The largest category of expenditure is well plugging and abandonment (P&A) at 44 per cent of the total forecast (£6.4 billion). • Operators forecast that decommissioning expenditure in 2014 will reach £1 billion for the first time in a single year and will average £1.5 billion each year over the ten years (2014 to 2023).

6 This figure excludes £520 million of expenditure data provided as lump sums and for decommissioning onshore terminals.

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