Page 98: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2015)

WORKBOAT ANNUAL

HEAVY LIFTING

What goes Up, Must Come Down

Offshore

Decommissioning

The Two North Seas & a $77B Market

By William Stoichevski t’s hard to know the true worth for world’s advanced, high-spec offshore the call because they are “heavy lift.” gold-rush-like hysteria in what seemed a vessel owners of a combined 5,000 ? eets with their valuable cranes, moon According to industry advocacy Oil province in decline. Decoms has its own

Norwegian and U.K. North Sea oil pools and deck space. Some, like Nor- & Gas U.K., U.K. offshore decommis- umbrella group, Decom North Sea, and

Iwells that will one day have to be way-based Island Offshore, get the call sioning alone represents around $77 bil- at least two major decommissioning con- permanently plugged, abandoned and for this work because they’re able to lion in work over 35 years and recently ferences and trade shows, plus an inno- made harmless. The task is the main oil- partner with the new innovators of sub- reached $1.54 billion a year. Decommis- vative technology base dedicated to re- ? eld abandonment job available to the sea abandonment work. Others will get sioning in the U.K. has whipped up a ducing abandonment costs. As we write,

Never Abandoned: The Sleipner Field off Norway was once a decommissioning candidate.

Photo: Harald Pettersen, Statoil 98 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • NOVEMBER 2015

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