UK to open decommissioning centre in Aberdeen area

The Oil & Gas Technology Centre and the University of Aberdeen plan to create a new Decommissioning Centre of Excellence, working in partnership with the offshore industry.

Over the next decade, around 100 platforms and 7,500 kilometres (4,660 miles) of pipeline are set to be decommissioned across the UK continental shelf, with costs in this sector estimated at £59 billion (US$83.76 billion) in the run-up to 2050.

Britain’s Oil & Gas Authority has set the industry a target of reducing this total by 35%.

In partnership with various companies, the new Centre of Excellence will develop and deploy technology designed to provide cost-effective decommissioning both at the end of field life and during oil and gas production operations, including ‘small piece’ decommissioning techniques.

Its focus will include facilities clean-up and removal and well P&A, and it will also pursue ways of optimising future facilities designs for recycling and reuse, including the use of new materials.

Another goal is to build on the University of Aberdeen’s existing R&D capabilities in decommissioning technologies, predictive modelling, environmental assessment and the economics of decommissioning.

In addition, it will draw on the capabilities of other universities and innovation centres throughout the UK and will collaborate with fishing, marine, safety and environment organizations both domestically and internationally.

The new Centre, due to open in late 2018, will be based at the University’s Oceanlab facility, located in the Energetica corridor which extends from Aberdeen north to Peterhead.

Oceanlab’s testing equipment includes indoor immersion tanks and a hyperbaric pressure vessel for certifying new technology and testing solutions which could cut the cost of decommissioning.

Source: Offshore Magazine