Scotland to lead future oil and gas industry

Offshore Europe, the oil and gas industry’s largest conference kicked off this week in Aberdeen.

Taking the opening speech, Andrew Jones, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, announced that Scotland would be at the forefront of the future of oil and gas.

The North Sea is one of the first regions in the world to start large scale decommissioning of oilrigs and pipelines, with ten per cent of old oil and gas facilities already been removed. Operators within the sector are obliged to clean up and dismantle oilrigs and pipelines, once they have finished extractions, and the UK has the opportunity to pioneer this work. Some 100 platforms will need to be scrapped and more than 1,800 oil wells plugged in the next ten years. Mr Jones urged the sector to innovate and sell its expertise to the world.

He said: “The UK oil and gas industry supports 300,000 jobs, and with up to 20 billion barrels of oil yet to recover, has many productive years ahead. As the need for decommissioning grows, we must seize the opportunity to cement the UK as a world-leader in this field and export this knowledge globally.

“Efficient decommissioning means big changes to the oil and gas industry – requiring new technology, skills and innovative approaches. This will ensure that decommissioning is safe and cost-effective while also protecting the environment.”

Chief Executive of The Oil and Gas Authority, Andy Samuel, said: “Decommissioning presents great opportunities for innovation and the development of UK skills and capability. We are working closely with operators and service providers and are already seeing some great performance in cost efficient decommissioning, new collaborations and technology trials. This bodes well for the shared target of 35% cost reductions and the considerable domestic and export value that can be realised.”

The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) forecasts that UK oil and gas operators will spend almost £60Bn on decommissioning between now and the 2050s.

The government already provides tax relief on decommissioning, helping UK companies to recover some 40% of the total cost, and the OGA have also pledged to reduce the overall cost by 35%. These measures will help companies make the best of decommissioning, creating new opportunities, advancing technology and generating more jobs.

Large decommissioning projects are already underway in the UK, which are making use of new innovations that are pushing technological boundaries, including Brent (Shell), Murchison (CNR) and the Southern North Sea (ConocoPhillips).

 

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Scotland to lead future oil and gas industry appeared first on UK Construction Online.