STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION

INFORMATION
SHEET December 2020

OFFSHORE OIL AND

GAS DECOMMISSIONING
What is decommissioning? Decommissioning phases
Once a field has produced all viable commercial reserves of oil and Decommissioning is often undertaken in several phases and takes many
gas, the production facility and associated infrastructure supporting years to complete.
the extraction process must be decommissioned according to offshore
petroleum legislation and regulations. Decommissioning is a normal Cessation of production (COP) occurs prior to decommissioning. During
part of the offshore oil and gas lifecycle. Decommissioning refers to the COP, production from an operating facility is permanently ceased
production facilities and associated infrastructure that are no longer and steps are taken to preserve the infrastructure until a detailed,
operational and may include complete or partial removal, or leaving the often phased, decommissioning plan is developed. COP may occur
infrastructure in place. when the facility reaches the end of its operating life or it is no longer
commercially viable to operate.
Offshore production facilities include floating production storage
and offloading (FPSO) vessels and offshore platforms. Associated Following COP the production facility, wells and associated
infrastructure refers to subsea pipelines and flowlines, subsea systems infrastructure is decommissioned in multiple planned phases. The
such as manifolds and umbilicals, and other subsea infrastructure which phase sequencing is dependant upon the type of facility, position of
support production wells. wells (subsea or surface), and the size and layout of the infrastructure.

Decommissioning options Decommissioning of major offshore items

Decommissioning options can include complete or partial removal as
Facilities
well as leaving the infrastructure in place. Full removal of infrastructure
is not always the recommended option, as parts may be left in place to FPSOs are floating vessels that are referred to as a facility, which
benefit the marine environment, for example, infrastructure providing produce and process oil and gas, and are connected by a riser turret
artificial reefs to support marine life. When a decommissioning option is mooring or a disconnectable turret mooring held in place by mooring
selected, safety, social, environmental, technical and economic aspects systems. The typical decommissioning method for a FPSO is permanent
are considered. Plugging and abandonment of wells is also carried out removal from the field. The vessel can then be used elsewhere, sold to
prior to decommissioning. another vendor or scrapped in a safe and environmentally responsible
manner. Where possible, scrapped materials are recycled.
How is decommissioning conducted?
Decommissioning of an offshore facility and its associated infrastructure
requires detailed planning. A decommissioning plan is prepared for each
facility, which details what decommissioning option has been selected
based on safety, social, environmental, technical and economic factors.
Decommissioning will only commence once all relevant regulatory
approvals are granted, which ensures the decommissioning activity
is undertaken in a manner that protects the offshore workforce and
environment.

Decommissioning of a facility and its associated infrastructure can

be a major and capital intensive engineering project. Engineering
and environmental studies are conducted by subject matter experts,
scientists, universities and independent researchers, and used to verify
technical, risk and engineering feasibility assessments. Stakeholder input
is incorporated into the overall assessment. An example of a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

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 An offshore platform is typically a steel fabricated structure fixed to the Production wells
seabed to support production facilities and accommodation for workers.
During decommissioning each production well is ‘plugged and
The facilities comprise a steel jacket, typically installed with piles and a
abandoned’ which means that it is permanently plugged and made safe
topside facility with the production facilities.
in accordance with industry best practice, which is generally considered
to be aligned with the ‘UK Oil Guidelines for the Abandonment of Wells’.
Decommissioning a well usually requires using a drill rig to re-enter the
well where cement is pumped into the well to create permanent barriers
to prevent hydrocarbon flow. The wellhead sits on top of the well
provide the structural base for the Xmas tree, which controls flow from
the well. The wellhead can be removed or left in-situ.

Are stakeholders involved in selecting the

decommissioning option?
Stakeholders may be engaged to help select the preferred
decommissioning option. Stakeholders can engage in the process
at various levels from being provided with information, to reviewing
information and participating in workshops. Engagement is typically
done through a number of phases which may include:

+ An education phase to familiarise stakeholders on the infrastructure

being decommissioned, and the marine environment.
+ A comparative assessment phase to select the preferred
decommissioning option.
+ Consultation on the selected decommissioning option to be included
in an Environment Plan for Government approval.

Comparative assessment
A comparative assessment is a decision-making tool that can involve
stakeholders to help assess and compare options to identify what is the
‘most preferred’ decommissioning option. Guidelines for Comparative
Assessment in Decommissioning Programmes for the North Sea were
released by Oil & Gas UK in 2015 (Oil & Gas UK, 2015). The Australian
An example of an offshore platform.
Petroleum Production and Exploration Association has proposed
to adopt the guidelines for use in Australia and is in the process of
Jackets refer to the steel frame which supports topsides or the deck of
revising the guidelines to align them to Australian legislation and an
an offshore platform. Jackets are decommissioned by leaving in place
Australian context.
either completely intact or toppling in-situ, partially removing - leaving
sufficient clearance through the water column for safe navigation, A comparative assessment workshop brings together a range of
or fully removing. Topsides include infrastructure which sits above stakeholders to consider decommissioning options against key criteria
sea level. All topside facilities are required to be fully cleaned of such as safety, environmental, socio-economic, technical feasibility and
hydrocarbons and then removed and transported for re-use, recycle costs. These criteria are weighted by stakeholders on their importance
or disposal. with scores allocated for each decommissioning option. Once assessed,
software then ranks the decommissioning options against these criteria
Subsea infrastructure to identify the preferred decommissioning option.
Subsea systems provide the conduit for oil and gas to flow from the
reservoir to the processing facility. Pipelines and flowlines are used to
transport hydrocarbons from subsea wells and offshore facilities for
treatment, storage and further transportation to market. These complex
systems feature supporting infrastructure including manifolds, umbilicals
and spools. During decommissioning all pipelines, flowlines and subsea
systems are flushed clean of hydrocarbons to an acceptable level that
minimises potential impacts on the environment. Decommissioning of
the subsea system infrastructure can involve either removal, leaving
in-situ or a combination of both.

Underwater image of a Woodside pipeline.

Contact
Andrew Winter, Senior Corporate Affairs Adviser
Woodside Energy Ltd
E: [email protected] | Toll free: 1800 442 977

www.woodside.com.au
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