New Approach to D&A Late Life Planning and Preparation: Era of Innovative Solutions

Abstract

New approach to Decommissioning and Abandonment (D&A) during late life planning and preparation is essential to the Operators to make D&A a more affordable and sustainable aspect of the Oil & Gas (O&G) business. D&A of offshore structures is a necessary requirement in the life cycle of hydrocarbon production. Removal of the structural components of an offshore platform, including the topside and jacket, represents up to 20% of the total decommissioning cost. This includes removal and transportation of the platform structure, substructures and other materials for further remediation, e.g., disposal at onshore via scrapping, repurpose, reefing, etc. The objectives of this paper include reviewing the current methods and efforts in Malaysia to remove and transport end-of-life structures and to propose innovative solutions to optimize the structural removal cost in decommissioning. The proposed recommendations consist of two categories; firstly, this research suggests improvements from the current available technologies and investigates more effective expenditure options on methods of structural removal. Secondly, this actionable insight explores novel solutions of maximising in-situ solutions. Few recommendations are proposed to be implemented in the platform decommissioning strategy. There is a huge Potential Value Creation (PVC) of adopting these recommendations as an attempt to reduce high cost of structural removal in decommissioning. This paper presents an overall review of the current capabilities and available technologies in the region. Decommissioning in Southeast Asia (SEA) presents a unique challenge and opportunity compared to other parts of the world. Decommissioning capabilities in SEA possess a huge growth potential to match the maturity, in terms of experience and portfolio, of the D&A players in other regions such as Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and North Sea. This will improve as increasingly number of decommissioning projects will be completed by PETRONAS in the future. In addition, the distinct and rich marine ecosystems present great opportunities for various in-situ solutions to be maximized for the benefits beyond oil & gas applications.