Oil & Gas UK Economic Report 2015

In cases such as these, theremay be no ideal solution and no clear consensus among experts on the best solution. The Oslo/Paris (OSPAR) Convention, which provides the framework for protecting and conserving the north east Atlantic (including the North Sea), recognises that there are significant difficulties in removing huge concrete installations such as GBS. In these instances, operators can and have made a case for an exemption from the general rule of complete removal, referred to as a ‘derogation’. If Shell’s assessments conclude that the safest and most responsible solution is to leave the GBS structures in place, it will seek such a derogation. Decommissioning is an intrinsic part of the life cycle of any oil and gas field. For the Brent field, this is a long-term project that is expected to take over a decade to complete. It is likely to create and sustain thousands of full-time UK jobs – many of which are highly skilled – for years to come. The field has a long history of providing employment and supply chain opportunities to local people and businesses. Several major contracts have already been awarded to UK companies after a competitive tendering process. The Brent Delta decommissioning services contract was awarded in 2010 to Wood Group PSN, an Aberdeen-based company that provides services to the global oil and gas sector. The contract for recycling the platforms’ topsides and the Brent Alpha steel jacket was awarded in 2014 to Able UK Limited, in Seaton Port, near Hartlepool. The target is for at least 97 per cent of the facilities to be recycled. The work at Able to reinforce the quay and dismantle and recycle the topside will create and sustain around 100 jobs. Hundreds of oil and gas installations in the North Sea are scheduled for decommissioning by 2040 and some 470 installations will require decommissioning over the next 30 to 40 years. This presents the UK with a potential opportunity to become a global leader in decommissioning skills – skills that could later be deployed around the world. As one of the first major fields to be decommissioned in the North Sea, Brent will enable UK companies to develop specialist skills and gain invaluable expertise, just as they did when the platforms were being installed and production offshore was starting. Sharing knowledge and best practice is very important for the development of the emerging decommissioning sector.

Shell works with other operators, regulators and the supply chain – directly and through Decom North Sea – and speaks at international conferences to ensure this knowledge and experience will give the UK an opportunity to become a leader in decommissioning projects, both in the North Sea and worldwide. Alistair Hope said: “There is a clear need to improve decommissioning cost efficiencies and to develop a collaborative approach across the industry, with a focus on decreasing the time it takes to plug and make safe the wells, which accounts for a high proportion of the decommissioning costs.” The recommendations for decommissioning the Brent field are being submitted to the UK Government in two phases. With DECC’s approval, Shell made the decision to bring forward submission of a Decommissioning Programme for the Brent Delta topside, ahead of a programme for the remainder of the infrastructure. This initial programme has been through the public consultation phase and gained approval in July 2015. Removal of the Brent Delta topside will involve using a newly-designed heavy lift vessel, the Pioneering Spirit, developed by Swiss-based specialists Allseas. This game-changing new technology will use advanced engineering techniques to remove the 24,200 tonne topside structure in one lift. It will be the heaviest single lift offshore ever. Shell’s structural engineers have been strengthening the underside of Brent Delta’s topside, as well as the drilling derrick and flare tower, to ensure they can withstand the lift forces. The Pioneering Spirit will have been through extensive trials, including test lifts, ahead of the Brent Delta topside operation. Once lifted, the structure will be loaded onto a barge and moved to the Able yard for recycling. The quay at this yard has required additional strengthening to enable it to take the weight of the Brent topsides’ skid. The plan for decommissioning the remainder of the Brent field will be submitted when Shell is confident that the proposals are safe, technically achievable, environmentally and socially sound, and financially responsible. The approval process for the full plan is expected to take more than a year, while the entire Brent field decommissioning is expected to take more than a decade to complete.

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ECONOMIC REPORT 2015