Decommissioning Insight 2016 - Oil & Gas UK

Northern North Sea and West of Shetland • The number of wells forecast for P&A over the next ten years in the northern North Sea and west of Shetland has increased to 430 from 326 in the 2015 survey. • The addition of 81 platform wells and 23 subsea wells is due to two large platform removal projects and a subsea project that now expect to carry out decommissioning earlier due to the challenges of operating in a low oil price environment.

1

2

3

• Seventy-three per cent of wells for P&A in these regions are platform wells.

• Forty-eight wells are forecast to be plugged and abandoned in 2016, with an annual average of 65 wells between 2016 and 2018.

4

• As several P&A campaigns are likely to start earlier to take advantage of current low rig rates, 80 more wells are expected in the near term (2016 to 2018).

• Activity is forecast to spike at 79 wells in 2023 due to the three new projects in the northern North Sea.

5

Figure 4: Number of Wells Forecast to be Plugged and Abandoned in the Northern North Sea and West of Shetland

6

140

Platform Subsea Development Suspended Subsea E&A Wells

Increased Uncertainty in Forecasts

120

7

100

80

8

60

9

Number of Wells

40

20

0

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

Source: Oil & Gas UK

Number of Wells 2016 to 2025 Proportion that are Platform Wells

Total CNS

1,074

52% 37% 73%

644 430

NNS and W o S

15