Scotland awards £2.5m for oil and gas decommissioning

A total of 12 projects across Scotland are being awarded a share of £2.5 million for the decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure in the North Sea.

They include innovation and research in pipeline cleaning, well plugging and abandonment, dry dock upgrades, feasibility studies, decommissioning pad investigation and specialist decommissioning equipment.

The Scottish Government’s Energy Strategy, launched last year, recognises that decommissioning offers significant economic opportunities and commits to enhance the capabilities and capacity in Scotland.

The decommissioning market is forecast to be worth up to £17 billion by 2025.

Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: “Decommissioning is an important part of the lifecycle of any oil and gas field in a mature basin, such as the North Sea and the likely scale of activity offers a variety of opportunities for Scottish-based firms, right across the supply chain.

“As set out in our Decommissioning Action Plan, the Scottish Government will continue to build on our work to date to ensure that Scotland’s firms are able to access the opportunities this growing market offers and maximise the economic impact for Scotland and improve efficiency in the decommissioning process.”

Additional Information

The funding is being awarded to the following companies:

Port of Cromarty Firth: Funding for feasibility study to explore options for preparing facilities to increase the ability to retain decommissioning projects in Scotland.

Lerwick Port Authority: Funding for the engineering Design phase of a decommissioning pad at Dales Voe.

Kishorn Port Ltd: Consultancy work to support licencing and surveys. Upgrades and repairs to the dry dock and development of a drainage plan.

Peel Ports Group – Fairlie, North Ayrshire: Funding to support the tender process for future capital works and obtaining the necessary licences and consents.

Oil States Industries: Funding to conduct detailed engineering design work to develop a new Perforating and Cementing Tool (PACT).

Ocean Kinetics Ltd – Shetland: Research and Development for provision of a bespoke cutting and inspection service for decommissioning projects.

Isol8 Limited – Aberdeen: Development of a thermite-based well barrier for the plug and abandon (P&A) market.

Pipeline Cleaning Solutions Ltd – Aberdeen: Funding for design, manufacture and testing for a new system for well bore cleaning and well abandonment.

University of Aberdeen: Funding to undertake a Front End Engineering Design (FEED) of a barrier qualification rig which could be developed and used for testing.

Downhole Energy Ltd: The project has a design for a new type of cutting tool, increasing the speed of cutting.

Decom North Sea: Development support project for design of a Decommissioning Digital Knowledge hub

Oil and Gas Innovation Centre: Development support project for development of a Decommissioning Research and Innovation Hub

Source : https://www.energylivenews.com/2018/11/27/scotland-awards-2-5m-for-oil-and-gas-decommissioning/