1.2 Million tonnes of disused oil rigs to be recycled in the next decade
It's estimated that up to 1.2 Million tonnes worth of disused oil and gas materials, such as rigs, are to be brought to shore in the next decade to be recycled
It's estimated that up to 1.2 Million tonnes worth of disused oil and gas infrastructure could be brought to shore to be recycled in the next decade.
Items ranging from massive rigs to the well heads that sit on the seabed in hundreds of metres of water will be earmarked for reuse.
That's according to a new industry decommissioning report.
Published by OGUK, the report says it's thought to be one of the largest marine removal programmes ever attempted.
Operators will spend an estimated £16.6 Billion on the work, supporting thousands of jobs.
Around 95% of materials from installations is typically recycled, but operators are turning their focus to reuse.
This would allow component parts, or even full structures, to be repurposed, avoiding the energy spend used for cutting up, smelting or crushing components.
Joe Leask, OGUK’s Decommissioning Manager, said:
"Decommissioning is more than a great challenge. It’s also a huge opportunity for UK companies to show their engineering skills, powers of innovation and ability to compete on a global scale.
“OGUK’s 2021 Decommissioning Insight report shows that over the last five years the UK decommissioning industry has improved its efficiency and cut its costs by an estimated 23%. So, we have done better but I think we can still do a lot more. If operators work together to create larger projects where we get economies of scale, then we can safely drive costs down even more.
“Decommissioning is also a key part of the UK’s transition to low-carbon energy and its aim of reaching net zero by 2050. This is partly because the installations being removed tend to be older and so generate more emissions relative to the oil and gas they produce.
“But it is also because of the growing opportunities for reuse, repurposing and recycling. Reuse is when infrastructure or equipment is taken away and used again elsewhere. This is already becoming common with forgings, pipeline valves, turbines and electrical kit. In the future some assets could be repurposed for new uses such as offshore wind and permanent storage of carbon dioxide by pumping it deep under the seabed.
“This is going to be an exciting 10 years – there’s a huge amount of work to be done and with £16.6 billion to be spent, there will be many opportunities for UK companies and workers.”