Decommissioning Insight 2017

UK Northern North Sea and West of Shetland • Twelve platforms are forecast for complete or partial removal, four of which are gravity-based and the remainder large steel installations weighing between 15,400 and 70,000 tonnes. Two FPSOs are also expected to be decommissioned. • Eleven of these platforms were built prior to 1999 and weigh in excess of 10,000 tonnes, making them candidates for derogation under OSPAR rules (see section 3 on the regulatory environment). • Due to the size and complexity of platforms in these regions, removal of the topside and substructure are often carried out individually rather than as part of a multi-platform campaign. Some operators are, however, actively looking at opportunities to decommission substructures in a campaign approach. • £1.1 billion is forecast to be spent on topside and substructure removal in these regions to 2025.

UK Southern North Sea and Irish Sea • Of the 67 platforms forecast for removal, only six of these weigh more than 4,000 tonnes with the majority being

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small, steel, unmanned installations that are likely to be removed by single-lift. • Platform weights range from 350 tonnes to 9,200 tonnes (1,900 tonnes on average).

• Several operators are already removing platforms in these regions as part of multi-platform campaigns spanning many years. Operators with fewer platforms are exploring opportunities to combine their activities with those of other operators. • £582 million is forecast to be spent on topside and substructure removal in these regions to 2025. Norwegian Continental Shelf • Operators forecast that 14 fixed platforms and two floating production units will be removed by 2025. • Total platform weights range from 4,000 to 30,000 tonnes (12,000 tonnes on average). • Nine of the platforms are to be removed in a multi-platform campaign approach. Danish Continental Shelf • Seventeen platforms, four of which are normally unmanned installations, are to be removed from the Danish Continental Shelf. • Platform sizes range from 970 tonnes to 22,100 tonnes (5,700 tonnes on average). • Operators plan to carry out all activity in a multi-platform campaign approach. The sizes of individual campaigns range from two to 11 platforms. Dutch Continental Shelf • Of the 150 platforms remaining in the Dutch North Sea 12 , 77 are forecast for removal by 2025. • Looking at the total inventory offshore in The Netherlands, the platforms range from small wellhead structures weighing just 500 tonnes to larger gravity-based structures of around 50,000 tonnes 13 . • Through the combined effort of EBN and NOGEPA, the Dutch industry has developed a database and Nexstep National Platform for Re-use and Decommissioning so that activity can be co-ordinated and carried out in the most efficient manner.

12 See the Netherlands Masterplan for Decommissioning and Re-use at http://bit.ly/EBNmasterplan 13 See the OSPAR Inventory of Offshore Installations 2015 at https://odims.ospar.org/odims_data_files/

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