NEwS Issue No. 1
August 2010
Introduction The North Sea oil and gas industry is forecasting a programme of decommissioning across the next thirty years, requiring expenditures estimated at £25 to £30 billion. A few isolated projects have been completed to date, providing modest but valuable learning and experience - but the large majority of this huge programme lies before us. In advance of this extensive period of activity across multiple, complex projects, the industry (operating companies, major contractors, service specialists, technology developers, legal and financial experts, consultants etc.) must work together to learn from, and share, the many experiences that will be earned from the next clutch of decommissioning projects.
Contents page 2 Chairman’s foreword Membership of Decom North Sea Decomnorthsea.com Future newsletters
page 3
The industry needs to develop and adopt innovative contracting models, able to stimulate progressive improvements and efficiency gains. A cohesive approach is needed to ensure effective management and mitigation of various risks – safety; environment; cost; reputation; technical etc. New compensation strategies are also required to ensure an equitable approach to the management of risk and reward.
Forthcoming DNS events and exhibitions DNS is participating in
The concept of packaging several individual decommissioning projects into larger programmes appears to offer significant benefits to all parties, but needs further research and promotion.
Supply Chain Matrix Packaging Research
And of course it is vitally important that the UK industry and supply chain is prepared to secure maximum benefit from the North Sea programme, and through doing so becomes globally recognised as a source of decommissioning expertise and experience, in the same way as it is already recognised for its strengths with new developments, production optimisation, subsea technologies, asset integrity and similar. Decom North Sea, the oil & gas industry decommissioning forum, is leading and facilitating the industry discussion on these important topics and is keen to hear from companies and organisations interested in pursuing these concepts.
Courtesy of Oil States MCS
www.decomnorthsea.com
page 4
pages 5-8 Members News: SPEX, Marine Subsea, CodaOctopus, BP, PSN and Spartan Solutions
page 2
Decom North Sea News
Chairman’s foreword Welcome to the first Decom North Sea newsletter. It comes on the back of an extremely busy few months for the industry forum with our membership drive resulting in many new members, well on our way to our target of 70 for the whole of this year. In fact, the great rate at which companies and partner organisations have been joining DNS is a clear signal that the time for the formation of the body is absolutely right and that there is awareness of the opportunities on offer through the raft of decommissioning work rapidly coming upon us. we do hope we will have the chance to meet many of our new and potential members from throughout the UK, and even Europe by the end of the year - at our Annual General Meeting, the programme of events running all over the country and at our first major conference in October being staged in partnership with Oil & Gas UK. Finally, a word of thanks to the UK Government’s Department of Energy and Climate Change, and from Scotland’s two economic development agencies (Scottish Enterprise and Highlands & Islands Enterprise), who have given DNS the financial support needed to get established until we become self-sustainable through private sector membership subscriptions and other sources of revenue.
Murdo MacIver Peterson SBS Ltd
Membership of Decom North Sea Full membership of Decom North Sea is open to any commercial organisation involved with decommissioning. Associate membership is open to non-commercial organisations and individuals who wish to be kept informed of Decom North Sea activity and attend networking events and conferences. Benefits of joining Decom North Sea include, amongst others, : • Access to operators and major contractors to understand their future decommissioning plans and supply chain needs • Opportunity to present and promote your company at Decom North Sea events • Access to market intelligence reports and business opportunities • Opportunity to participate in specialist working groups e.g. (a) to look at the various contracting strategies for decommissioning; (b) packaging of decommissioning projects • Discounted rate for Decom North Sea events More information on member benefits and how to apply to join Decom North Sea can be found at www.decomnorthsea.com
Decomnorthsea.com The recently revamped Decom North Sea website will be launched officially at the AGM in September. It is hoped that this site will be considered as a portal to everything you need to know about decommissioning in the North Sea. Featured on the website will be the Decommissioning Supply Chain Matrix allowing visitors to the site to search for companies with decommissioning capability by a short series of options: firstly to select which phase of decommissioning then to choose the kind of facility or equipment that is to be decommissioned, and then to the specific services required. Decom North Sea members featured on this matrix will be able to demonstrate their key capabilities and experience in decommissioning.
Future newsletters we welcome contributions from our members for future newsletters so please send your news and photos to SHillyear@decomnorthsea.com we hope by sharing your experiences and successes in the decommissioning sector with fellow members and the wider decommissioning industry, further useful connections will be made.
Decom North Sea News
page 3
Forthcoming DNS events and exhibitions Offshore Northern Seas (ONS),Stavanger, 24th – 27th August Decom North Sea is attending ONS to promote Decom North Sea and attract new members as well as meeting with some of the key decommissioning players from Norway to learn of their decommissioning plans and how the UK supply chain can engage. Come and see us in Hall J, stand 1018-5
Decom North Sea Annual General Meeting, Marcliffe Hotel, Aberdeen, 14th September On Tuesday 14th September, the Decom North Sea website and supply chain matrix will be launched. This will be followed by the Decom North Sea AGM where members of DNS will have the opportunity to nominate new board members. To find out more about the AGM and how to nominate a board member visit www.decomnorthsea.com
Offshore Decommissioning Conference 2010, Dunblane Hydro, 5th – 7th October Decom North Sea in partnership with Oil and Gas UK are holding a two day Offshore Decommissioning Conference at the Dunblane Hydro, Tues 5th – Thurs 7th Oct. The conference theme is ‘Integrating and expanding regional capabilities for decommissioning in the North Sea’ A drinks reception on the evening of 5 October will mark the official opening of the conference and provide a fantastic opportunity for delegates to meet in a relaxed and informal atmosphere before the more formal aspects of the conference commence the following morning. The Conference will focus on the role and needs of the oil and gas industry’s offshore decommissioning supply chain in five main sessions following an opening keynote address. • Decommissioning in the North Sea - lessons learned and possibilities for the future; with new material on cost estimating and market opportunities • Contracting strategies; an interactive cross-industry engagement to explore different contracting models • The decommissioning supply chain within the UK; building from new mapping work, showcasing and discussing the capabilities of four key sectors • The forward agenda for decommissioning; update presentations on wider decommissioning activities from other sectors • Conference reflections In addition a conference dinner will be held for all the delegates and speakers on the evening of 6 October - this is included in the conference fee. The conference fee is £437.50, however, Decom North Sea members are eligible for a 20% discount. For more information and how to register for this event go to www.oilandgas.co.uk/events
Decom North Sea and NOF Energy networking event, Durham, 11th November Decom North Sea and NOF Energy are holding a decommissioning themed networking lunch. This will include an update on Decom North Sea as well as a presentation from Jim Niven, Stakeholder Manager, Shell on Shell’s decommissioning plans. For more information and to register for this event, contact shillyear@decomnorthsea.com
Oil and Gas Supply Chain Management, 29th & 30th November 2010, London, UK SMi’s forthcoming Oil and Gas Supply Chain Management conference will address challenges, innovation, solutions and lessons learned, as influential players from the oil and gas landscape come together to understand how to generate value, create efficiency, and improve productivity. For more information and to book your place visit www.smi-online.co.uk/supplychain17.asp Decom North Sea members are eligible for a 25% discount off the delegate rate, please contact Andrew Gibbons on + 44 (0) 20 7827 6156 to receive the discount. Please visit www.decomnorthsea.com for details of future events.
page 4
Decom North Sea News
Supply Chain Matrix The main purpose of Decom North Sea is to ensure the supply chain is ready to capture business opportunities - in other words, to ensure the readiness, capability and capacity of the UK supply chain. To address the pending supply gap, Decom North Sea has embarked on the ambitious quest of mapping the existing supply chain to better facilitate supply and demand. we have undertaken a major piece of work to map out the supply chain in order to identify where the capability resides, to enable operators and major contractors to be aware of supply chain capabilities and to access services quickly. we are talking about massive demand – a £25bn-£30bn programme that will require all available resources, such as engineering contractors and operators, onshore facilities, specialist services such as cutting, safety and environmental specialists, vessels and so on. There is a whole raft of contractors that supply support services for the major operators. we will primarily focus on this. There may be a limited use for platforms as electricity substations for the North Sea grid, which would enable the UK’s offshore wind and marine power to be exported, and be balanced with hydro and other forms of power from Norway, Denmark France and Belgium. Complete platform resale is possible but thought to be generally unlikely, given that in the North Sea, each platform was designed to meet specific requirements of the reservoir and water depth etc. As a result, no two platforms in the NorthSea are the same, so to relocate and reuse such unique designs elsewhere would be a long shot – but possible. However a bigger opportunity lies in the possibility of refurbishing major platform components and equipment for secondary re-use on new developments. There is evidence of a growing focus on possible“re-use”as well as recycling.
Packaging Decom North Sea is undertaking research into the concept of packaging a number of decommissioning projects together, in order to provide a stronger basis for the supply chain to prepare and possibly invest in new equipment, people, facilities, joint ventures and similar. It is hoped to establish a work group from DNS Members to progress this concept.
Research DNS is also working on a project with The Robert Gordon University and Accenture to undertake research and analysis of different decommissioning contracting strategies. Eight Masters students at RGU, who are being mentored by consultants from Accenture, are devoting the summer months to this project. The team will research various alternatives with members of Decom North Sea before conducting an independent analysis to consider the pros and cons of each contracting option. This research will be presented for industry discussion and debate at our conference in October.
Decom North Sea News
page 5
Members News SPEX Targets Decommissioning Work
The 8400 tonne Sarah arrived into Aberdeen Harbour on the evening of wednesday 29 July and set sail on Friday 30 July to begin the contract. Marine Subsea gave a tour of the 120 metre vessel to Brian Nixon, Chief Executive of Decom North Sea. Mr Nixon welcomed the significant contract for the region saying: “We are working closely with operators and the supply chain to encourage the packaging of projects, so it is great to see the benefits Marine Subsea UK is delivering in its multi-client approach to well abandonment. Decommissioning North Sea oil and gas facilities in the UK Continental Shelf is projected to cost between £24 - £30 billion between 2010 and 2040 and we are keen to ensure investment is returned to the economy in this way.”
SPEX, the largest independent provider of speciality explosive services in the UK, recently received a £1m investment from local businessman and entrepreneur, Jamie Oag. SPEX, formed in May 2009, provides a range of services and engineering consultancy in the field of explosive sciences and technology in both the public and private sector. The company’s seven business segments include field services, consultancy, training and competence, explosive disposal, manufacturing of specialist explosive products, sales and services and a special projects division for both the public and private sectors. The main oil related activities are focused on the remedial sector such as pipe recovery, wellhead removal, pile severance, structural removal and anchor, wire and chain severance. Gavin Drummond, Managing Director for SPEX, said: “Many operators realise that explosives can offer a safe, cost-effective and guaranteed solution compared to other methods. SPEX offer a first class service to our clients and our vision is to continually develop technologies and methods which will allow us to become a market leader in explosive decommissioning.’’ SPEX has a team of 20 staff and operates from three bases in and around Aberdeen which include management offices at Carden Place, workshops and a bonded warehouse facility at Dyce and a training and deep water evaluation site at Tillyfourie.
Sarah arrives into Aberdeen to begin Major Decommissioning Contract Marine Subsea’s flagship vessel Sarah has travelled from west Africa to Aberdeen to begin a series of decommissioning contracts in the North Sea. The £2 million multi-client well abandonment programme will see the specialist light well intervention vessel plug and abandon a total of five subsea wells. The contracts are with a number of oil and gas operators including DNO, Bayerngas UK and Tullow.
Marine Subsea UK is leading the project to perforate, cement and carry out abrasive severing and recovery of the wells.The company will also be responsible for the recovery and disposal of residual oil-based muds. The Sarah is an Ulstein SX121 DP3 (dynamic positioning) vessel that is capable of operating in depths of 3,000 metres. The main features include a tower, main crane, helideck and two heavy duty workclass ROVs. She travelled from west Africa where she is on a flexible ten year contract with oil operator Sonangol via Spain, where she had carried a short subsea construction project for Repsol. Bruce Cowie, Project Manager for Marine Subsea’s project said that a multi-client approach worked well in driving down the costs of decommissioning. He added: “Sarah offers a top quality safe and efficient service for well abandonment programmes and we are pleased that our whole fleet of vessels is currently in demand at home and overseas. We are well positioned to support the increase in decommissioning activity forecast for the North Sea and in other oil andgasfieldsglobally.Oursafetytrackrecordwasrecognisedrecently with a British Council International Safety Award.” Marine Subsea UK is based at Regent Centre at Aberdeen Harbour and employs 30 people. It is part of the Marine Subsea group which is headquartered in Oslo, with operations in Aberdeen, Angola, Nigeria and Cyprus. Established in 2006, the company operates in three main industry areas – subsea construction and well intervention, offshore support and charter and logistics.
page 6
Decom North Sea News
3D Real-Time Technology from CodaOctopus Set for Decommissioning Tasks The unique 3D sonar technology of the Coda Echoscope® is set for new decommissioning projects in the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The benefits of the Echoscope’s 3D capabilities, which bring real-time visualisation to the underwater working environment, were substantiated in a successful role in a recent ‘plug and abandonment’ task in the Gulf of Mexico, underlining its suitability for entry into the decommissioning arena.
Commercial achievements with Echoscope technology have been documented in a range of diverse applications including ROV operations where, as an intuitive aid to the ROV pilot, real-time 3D visualisation augmented his spatial awareness when navigating through complex structures. Other projects include offshore windfarm installation and underwater breakwater construction; in all cases significant improvements in operational efficiency and enhanced underwater safety are reported. “Given the unrivalled operational and safety benefits that 3D real-time isualisation has brought to many different underwater applications in recent years, we are delighted to provide a new perspective to the processes of decommissioning,” said Stephen Auld, Managing Director at CodaOctopus Products. “We are confident that Echoscope technology will transfer easily into this environment to enhance subsea safety and increase productivity.”
courtesy of BP
Echoscope technology generates a real-time three-dimensional image from one acoustic transmission, or ping, and from a single ping over 16,000 range and bearing points are generated. The total viewing angle measures 50˚ x 50˚ and within this acoustic volume, an instantaneous 3D image is generated. The fact that these 3D images can be generated instantaneously and without the need of positioning, heading or motion reference sensors is recognised as a distinct advantage in numerous diverse underwater applications.
Decommissioning Project Updates from BP Miller BP has submitted a decommissioning programme to DECC on behalf of the field partners (BP, ConocoPhillips and Shell). The public consultation phase ended on 25th June and the programme will now continue through the next stage of the regulatory approval process. If the Miller proposals are accepted by the UK Government, there will be a consultation in Europe through the OSPAR process later this year. BP has also issued a request for information (RFI) to the marketplace as the first step in formally engaging with the supply chain on Miller decommissioning. Further information is available on www.bp.com/miller Don The decommissioning programme for BP's Don field (partners ConocoPhillips) is currently proceeding through the regulatory approval process. In parallel, we are making preparations for the actual well plugging and abandonment activity and removal of seabed infrastructure which will be carried out after the programme is approved. Further information is available on www.bp.com/don North West Hutton Topsides and jacket removal activity on North west Hutton (BP, Cieco, Shell and ExxonMobil) was completed in 2009 and we have now achieved a 98% figure for the reuse or recycling of recovered material. Further information is available on www.bp.com/northwesthutton
Decom North Sea News
PSN awarded SHELL contract for BRENT FIELD PSN is pleased to confirm that it has been awarded a major contract by Shell U.K. Limited (Shell), acting on behalf of itself and Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited (Esso), for work on the Brent oil and gas field in the UK North Sea. The contract award is for the decommissioning services on the Brent Delta platform topsides. PSN will provide services including integrity management; module, process and utility separation; safe shutdown; hydrocarbon cleaning; disconnections and preparation for removal of the topsides.
page 7
Offshore work is expected to begin around late 2011 as part of the initial stages of Brent Delta decommissioning. Peter Brown, UK managing director of PSN said: “The award of this contract reflects the strength of our ability to provide Shell with proven decommissioning expertise. It also underlines our ability to support operators across the full spectrum of brownfield services. “Building on the existing skills and offshore expertise in the North Sea region, we are confident the contract will provide a significant number of new job opportunities in the decommissioning services sector. It will also position Aberdeen as a global centre of excellence for offshore decommissioning.”
Spartan Solutions joins Decom North Sea to focus on increasing equipment decommissioning profitability through barcode and RFID technology
Jim Green, Managing Director of Spartan, says: “Phalanx is designed to improve the efficiency and reduce the costs of managing equipment. Decommissioning is the final phase of the equipment lifecycle and is a natural fit for our products and services.”
Spartan Solutions software platform decommissioning efficiency across transportation.
Phalanx’s capability has already been proven in oil and gas logistics, having been deployed by oilfield service and rental providers Swire Oilfield Services, Aker Solutions and Aggreko.
is unveiling its innovative Phalanx to the growing global oil and gas market – targeted at improving equipment recovery, audit and
Phalanx seamlessly integrates with existing back office systems to ensure that all decommissioned equipment is fully tracked and audited at every stage of its journey.
Phalanx delivers easy to use operational processes using mobile technology, barcodes and RFID to reduce operating costs while improving contract profitability. Spartan’s system allows for tighter control of processes and compliance by removing the risk of human error and unnecessary paper trails. Brian Nixon, Decom North Sea Chief Executive, says: “The difference between profit and loss in the decommissioning cycle relies heavily on the efficiency of equipment management processes. Spartan has a strong track record with major companies in the oil and gas market and I am delighted that they are bringing their strengths to bear in this emerging growth sector.”
Spartan Solutions is exhibiting on Stand 1018-16 (Hall J) at ONS 2010, Stavanger, Norway from August 24 to 27. For more information visit www.spartan-solutions.com and www.ons.no
page 8
Decom North Sea News
Full membership of Decom North Sea is open to any commercial organisation involved with decommissioning. Associate membership is open to non-commercial organisations and individuals who wish to be kept informed of Decom North Sea activity and attend networking events and conferences. For further information, visit www.decomnorthsea.com
Member Listing Members of Decom North Sea – as at 26th July 2010 60 North Recycling Ltd Aberdeenshire Council AF Decom Offshore AS Aker Offshore Partner Ltd AMEC APEX Speciality Solutions Ltd Asset Development & Improvement Ltd (ADIL) Avanteq Ltd Babcock Marine Rosyth BJ Process & Pipeline Services BOND - Bluegrass Offshore & Nuclear Decommissioning Services Ltd BP Caithness Chamber of Commerce Cape Industrial Services Ltd Carbon Energy Club CodaOctopus Products Ltd CSL Cutting Underwater Technologies Ltd Danish Marine and Offshore Group E.M.w Consultancy Ltd EAP Associates Ltd East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) ES Europe Ethan Consultancy Ltd Halliburton Hess Ltd IRO Keltbray Group Holdings Ltd
Ledingham Chalmers Lloyd’s Register EMEA Maclay Murray & Spens Marathon Oil UK Ltd Marine Subsea (UK) Ltd Mwaves Ltd NOF Energy Norse Cutting & Abandonment Ltd NSIG Oil States MCS Ltd Pegasus International (UK) Ltd Peterson SBS Petrofac Port Services Group Product Development International Production Services Network (PSN) Proserv Offshore Rotech Subsea Scottish Renewables Seal-Tite UK LLC Shepherd & wedderburn SMD Robotics Ltd Spartan Solutions Ltd SPEX Services Ltd Sureclean Ltd Thinktank Maths Ltd URS Corporation wood Group
Reciprocal Agreements The name of Decom North Sea was selected with care, as it is intended to approach the decommissioning programme from a pan-North Sea perspective. we believe that the scale and complexities of offshore decommissioning between 2012 and 2025 will require resource and capacity from all North Sea producing countries. Decom North Sea is therefore keen to foster collaborative links with European colleagues we have already signed reciprocal agreements with regional energy bodies across Europe to help us reach as many potential members as possible in the UK and further afield. These include NOF Energy, East of England Energy Group, North Scotland Industries Group, IRO (the Association of Dutch Suppliers to the Oil & Gas Industry), Offshore Denmark and the Carbon Energy Club in Belgium. A further agreement has been reached with Caithness Chamber of Commerce to research the possible transfer of experience and technologies from the nuclear decommissioning sector.
Contact Decom North Sea, Riverside House, Riverside Drive, Aberdeen AB11 7LH Tel: +44 1224 224129 Fax +44 1224 224301 email: shillyear@decomnorthsea.com www.decomnorthsea.com