Decommissioning fund awards

Twelve projects across Scotland will be offered a share of £2.5 million in the third round of the Scottish Government’s Decommissioning Challenge Fund (DCF) awards.

The DCF supports infrastructure improvements and innovation to deliver decommissioning of North Sea oil and gas infrastructure.

Projects in this round include:

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

Speaking at the Decom North Sea Conference in St Andrews, Scotland’s 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.

“Our Decommissioning Challenge Fund is a clear signal to the market to think seriously about decommissioning – a market that is forecast to be worth up to £17 billion over the period to 2025 – and to plan and invest accordingly. I am pleased that the Scottish Government’s funding is, as intended, acting as a catalyst to help attract in significant investment and innovation from the private sector.”

Mike Tholen, Oil and Gas UK, said:

“Alongside continued upstream operations, our offshore oil and gas industry has a world-class supply chain with the capabilities and expertise to lead the way in decommissioning at home and across the world. This fresh round of funding has the potential to spark a new wave of technological advances and support fresh thinking. This is critical to realising our wider Vision 2035, boosting growth of the supply chain and opening new opportunities in emerging markets.”