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DECOMMISSIONING SPONSORED BY
www.wellsafesolutions.com
SAFE, SMART & EFFICIENT The complete package for well decommissioning Well-Safe Solutions provides a ground-breaking approach to the safe and cost-efficient decommissioning of on and offshore wells. We offer a specialist well abandonment service that allows operators to meet the challenges and regulatory imperatives around decommissioning, while significantly reducing costs.
Offshore oil and gas field decommissioning: Disputes and Other challenges As offshore assets age, oil and gas companies face a wave of decommissioning obligations, with expenditures estimated to exceed US$200 billion in coming decades. Decommissioning is not simply demolition. It requires plugging and abandonment of subsea wells. It requires reverse engineering structures in order to dismantle them safely and efficiently. It requires the destruction or recycling of substantial waste products, including hazardous chemicals. It also may require substantial environmental remediation.
As offshore assets age, oil and gas companies face a growing wave of decommissioning work. This wave could accelerate depending on market conditions, particularly the future erosion of oil and gas prices. If the transition to alternative energy sources and other economic factors push prices down, assets will reach the end of their economic lifespan more quickly. Assets that can be operated economically in a ~$100-per-barrel environment may not be economical in a ~$60-per-barrel environment.
Decommissioning represents not just an operational challenge but also a legal one. The global dispersion of facilities and their offshore location necessarily implicates a complex and overlapping set of international, regional, national, and intranational legal regimes. Decommissioning activities inevitably will entangle oil and gas companies in a wide range of disputes, including with host governments, regulators, business partners, and contractors.
Decommissioning is not simply demolition. It includes all activities necessary to manage and dispose of installations and platforms and to restore the environment. It includes pre-abandonment surveys, development of a decommissioning plan and its submission for regulatory approval, plugging and abandonment of wells, dismantling and removal of topsides, subsea structures and pipelines, and disposal of associated waste. It requires reverse engineering
structures in order to safely and efficiently dismantle them. It requires the destruction or recycling of substantial waste products, including hazardous chemicals. It also may require substantial environmental remediation. The cost and scope of decommissioning operations varies widely depending on the type and location of the structures at issue. Small structures in shallow waters sometimes can be decommissioned for several hundred thousand dollars. A complex web of large and heavy structures in deep water are more challenging and can involve costs running into the billions of dollars. The scope of anticipated future decom activity is massive. Global decommissioning expenditures between 2010 and 2040 have been estimated at more than US$210 billion. An estimated 2,000 offshore projects will require decommissioning between 2021 and 2040.
Dales Marine successfully decommissions MV Oceanic Pintail, recycling 100% of the vessel
Dales Marine Services Ltd (Dales Marine), an EU List approved supplier of vessel decommissioning, announces the successful decommissioning and recycling of MV Oceanic Pintail. MV Oceanic Pintail, launched in 1987, was owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and operated by its transport business Nuclear Transport Solutions. MV Oceanic Pintail arrived at the Dales Marine's Leith dry dock facilities in mid-November 2020, and Dales commenced with decommissioning operations at the end of that month. Cargo vessels like the Oceanic Pintail are designed and constructed to counter harsh environmental
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and climatic conditions. Unfortunately, at the end of their serviceable life, they can often be contaminated with unsafe substances that can make decommissioning vessels a complex and hazardous process.
stipulating that 98% of the vessel's materials had to be recycled in line with their commitment to environmental responsibility Dales Marine exceeded the target and recycled 100% of the vessel’s materials.
Dales Marine is very experienced in conducting vessel decommissioning safely and responsibly at their Leith dry dock. The dry dock is regularly used for decommissioning ships and is set up to accommodate these types of projects.
Throughout the decommissioning process, Dales worked closely with its contractors discussing how best to remove the waste material from site for recycling. By working with contractors, they found several solutions to streamline the process. Detailed reports of materials removed, recycled, or repurposed were supplied regularly to the client. Finally, by working closely with contractors, Dales ensured that any waste that wasn't recyclable was either repurposed, resold or went as waste for energy schemes.
On 24 November 2020, MV Oceanic Pintail was issued a ready to recycle certificate, de-pollution, soft stripping, and removal of the accommodation were completed by Dales Marine at the end of March. The vessel was then prepared for and manoeuvred into the dry dock for the hull's final disposal, which commenced early August. Dales Marine removed the last piece of MV Oceanic Pintail from the dry dock on 15 September, and the completion certification was issued. The contract for the project was for the removal and disposal of the vessel, with the client, Nuclear Transport Solutions,
Michael Milne, CEO, Dales Marine Services, said: "Our team's decommissioning expertise and experience have been invaluable in our achieving the 98% recycling targets. Dales prides itself on being a high achiever in its recycling and greener approach. For this project, having the support and strong working relationships with our contractors and suppliers has allowed us to work together in finding the best solution for improving how we went about recycling or repurposing waste materials from the vessel.".
