The opportunities for businesses to secure part of the developing UK offshore decommissioning market will be discussed at a significant event in September organised by NOF Energy and Decom North Sea.
The event, which takes place on 16 September at the Wynyard Hall Hotel in North East England, will focus on the growth of the sector, its increasing supply chain requirements and the challenges it faces to decommission hundreds of UK offshore assets in the coming decades.
Decommissioning spend has now surpassed £1billion per year with estimates expecting that figure to more than double by 2018 as the rate of operations increase.
In common with the oil recovery sector’s ambitions to deliver more efficient and productive operations, the decommissioning market requires cost effective and innovative solutions, which is presenting new opportunities for the supply chain.
At the event, Centrica Energy’s Ian Whitehead will provide an update on the operator’s decommissioning activities and supply chain requirements alongside presentations from supply chain companies Able UK and OSBIT Power, which are very active it the sector.
Able UK has established an enviable reputation for the decommissioning of end-of-life vessels and marine structures from its Teesside Environmental Reclamation & Recycling Centre (TERRC) in Hartlepool, which it has undertaken for companies such as Shell, Exxon and BP.
OSBIT Power, the Northumberland-based offshore and subsea engineering company, is experienced at developing cost-effective solutions to complex engineering issues that can be applied to decommissioning projects including well intervention technology and sophisticated walkway access systems.
Caroline Lofthouse, Business Development Manager at NOF Energy said: “This event should garner considerable interest from companies that have aspirations to play a role in the decommissioning process.
“Although the physical decommissioning of the majority of assets on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) is some way off in the future, the opportunities for businesses, including NOF Energy and Decom North Sea members, are very much in the here and now. This is reflected in the £1bn that is being spent on UKCS decommissioning each year and will continue beyond that level for the next three decades.”
Karen Seath, chief executive of Decom North Sea, said: “We are set to experience an exponential increase in activity on a previously unseen scale, which will require the support of an innovative and agile supply chain.
“With an estimated 5,500 wells, 400 facilities and 10,000 kilometres of pipeline due to be decommissioned during the next 35 years it is essential that the industry is able to control costs and ensure efficiency. This can be achieved by early planning, increased collaboration and knowledge sharing across all tiers of the sector.”
The Decommissioning Networking Lunch takes place at Wynyard Hall Hotel on 16 September between 10.30am and 2pm. Places can be booked by contacting Nicola Smith on 0191 384 6464 or nsmith@nofenergy.co.uk.