Decommissioning
About the Program
When an oil and gas project is completed, the infrastructure that was installed on the seafloor needs to be removed. Decommissioning this infrastructure is expensive and time consuming. There are different pressures on the oil and gas companies, but the overriding concern is to limit any further environmental impact. To maintain their social licence to continue operating the companies have to leave the site in good order before they move on.
There are many strategies that can be employed to decommission offshore infrastructure from removal of all infrastructure, through to minimal removal required to make safe and environmentally acceptable.
However, different stakeholders have different views on how far decommissioning should go. Oil and gas companies want to meet community expectations while minimising costs, recreational fishers like infrastructure to be left as it creates new environments and can enhance fish stocks, some commercial fishers want it removed as it can damage their fishing equipment and environmental groups want to be certain the environment is protected.
WA State and Commonwealth waters
Scientific Literature Review
Blueprint priority research
WAMSI led a comprehensive stakeholder process to explore what knowledge was needed to support industry processes, regulatory requirements and meaningful stakeholder engagement to ensure future decommissioning decisions and approvals were underpinned by robust science.
The report summarises the uncertainties, opportunities and issues that stakeholders have identified about decommissioning practice, and about applying the full range of decommissioning options in addition to the status quo: full removal. The report also provides the priority science questions that need to be answered to allow informed and efficient consideration of the full range of decommissioning options.
Locations included all Western Australian state and Commonwealth waters with a focus on the North West and west coast, the Timor Sea, and a secondary focus on the south coast/Great Australian Bight.
Decommissioning options
Decommissioning offshore infrastructure: a review of stakeholder views and science priorities
