Decommissioning Insight 2017
DECOMMISSIONING INSIGHT 2017
4.4 Subsea Infrastructure
Pipelines The extensive pipeline network across the North Sea measures in excess of 45,000 kilometres and is used to deliver hydrocarbons to receiving facilities and end-users across Europe. This transportation network is critical when assessing the economics of field-life extension projects or new developments. It is therefore essential that major pipelines are not decommissioned prematurely. Options for pipeline decommissioning include full removal, decommissioning in situ , trenching and burial. The agreed approach is decided on only when all the different methods are considered in a robust comparative assessment that accounts for safety and environmental factors, technical feasibility, other users of the sea and cost. All decisions are made on a case-by-case basis in consultation with key stakeholders and subject to regulatory approval. Around 7,800 kilometres of pipeline (including cables and umbilicals) are forecast to be decommissioned across the four regions of the North Sea up to 2025. Around 2,000 kilometres are associated with decommissioning projects that have already started. As pipeline decommissioning is one of the final activities in a typical project, the timing is difficult to predict and is dependent on all other tasks that precede it. For this reason, a detailed yearly forecast has not been provided.
Figure 10: Forecast Pipeline Decommissioning, 2017 to 2025
Trunkline (km)
Other Pipelines (km)
Umbilicals (km)
CNS
631 170 671
1,367
626 190 533
NNS and WoS
418 908
SNS and Irish Sea
Norwegian Continental Shelf Danish Continental Shelf Dutch Continental Shelf
64
124
34
-
208
9
139
1,529
159
26
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