Decommissioning Insight 2015

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7.4.2 Southern North Sea and Irish Sea
The forecast for pipeline decommissioning in these regions has increased by nearly 1,000 to 3,430 kilometres since
the 2014 report, primarily because of more detailed forecasts for existing projects.
The spread of activity is forecast to be relatively high across the decade, as illustrated in Figure 25, although it is
not evenly distributed. High activity is forecast in 2020 and 2024 and Oil & Gas UK would expect this to smooth out.
This reflects operators’ current best estimates and are not sanctioned decommissioning programmes; a complete
list of which can be found on DECC’s Project Pathfinder website18.
The SNS PILOT Rejuvenation Work Group is looking to maximise recovery of reserves in the region and there is
ongoing industry discussion about the proposed decommissioning of some critical infrastructure.
Figure 25: Forecast of Pipeline Decommissioning Activity in the Southern North Sea and Irish Sea
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Total Length (km)
Trunkline (Diameter >16 inches)
Other Pipelines (Diameter <16 inches)
Umbilicals
Increased Uncertainty
in Forecasts
Source: Oil & Gas UK
Number
2015 to 2024
Length (km)
2015 to 2024
Total Expenditure
2015 to 2024
Pipeline
decommissioning
3,430 £118million
Umbilicals 44 350
Trunklines 19 930
Other pipelines 116 2,150
2020 46 680
Peak year of pipeline decommissioning activity
18 The DECC Pathfinder website can be viewed at
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