Sustainability features in pretty much every conversation these days, including those around decommissioning. However, while the term gets a lot of use, it is not always clear in what context.

The concept of sustainability varies among individuals, with many associating it closely with the principles of the circular economy — focused on reducing, reusing, and recycling — and the pursuit of net environmental benefits in all endeavours.

Meanwhile, sustainability in a business context emphasises the need for an organisation to establish or grow a diverse and stable customer and financial base, conducting operations in a way that ensures long-term viability. Without financially sustainable businesses, it is hard to have a circular economy and pursue society’s environmental goals.

I would strongly suggest that appropriately executed and managed decommissioning plays a pivotal role in the energy transition, and embodies enormous potential for sustainable outcomes.

This potential is realised when adhering to decommissioning best practices. Wells are meticulously plugged and abandoned; facilities are closed down and either fully removed or partially removed with some materials left in situ with due consideration for the long-term impacts of such decisions; and where removed materials are then cleaned, dismantled and sorted with as much material recycled as possible and finally only intractable waste is safely disposed of in appropriate facilities.

Sustainable decommissioning

So, the question then is, what should sustainable decommissioning encompass?

It is imperative to plug wells effectively, preventing any future flow or leakage, and allowing where appropriate, the potential future use of reservoirs for activities such as carbon sequestration.

Fixed structures must be removed to the satisfaction of the regulators and all removed materials returned to shore for processing.

Floating facilities must be removed from the station for either redeployment or disposal, with the final disposal being undertaken according to international best practices in safe and well-managed facilities.

Subsea infrastructure should be either removed to shore or, where approved by regulators, left in situ. This could either be for future use in applications such as transporting CO2 for injection into abandoned fields or to be left in a long-term, safe condition in recognition that removal would not be of environmental benefit.

Ideally, this work should be executed using energy-efficient techniques, technologies, tooling, and vessels, minimising the time vessels spend undertaking the work.

In Australian waters and the Australian context this can be problematic since many of the vessels needed for much of this work are based in other regions, necessitating long transits to Australia for relatively short durations of work.

This is exacerbated by the nation’s vast coastline and relative shortage of suitable locations for land decommissioned assets for processing.

All removed materials should then first and foremost be considered for their future use, with disposal to landfill seen as a last option.

Many materials such as steel, non-ferrous metals and concrete, constituting a substantial portion of the 95 per cent and beyond that are routinely recycled, should be prioritised in recycling efforts.

However, many of the plastics and polymers used in facilities present unique challenges in recycling, with some materials needing further research to find alternate uses.

Volumetrically, recycling of many of these materials also presents challenges. For instance, some materials are present in relatively small quantities and while they may have a good recycling market, a lack of proximity to customers can make the logistics and financial sustainability of undertaking recycling more difficult.

All these challenges though have solutions. Through open collaboration, careful consideration of methods, and targeted research, the industry can execute decommissioning in an increasingly sustainable manner.

Finding this optimum approach requires viewing decommissioning work through a systemic, strategic lens and addressing the work in a holistic rather than in a piecemeal manner.

Adopting this comprehensive perspective entails several changes in how the work is conceived, regulated, planned, and executed, shifting the focus from project-based, often point solutions, to viewing decommissioning as a long-term endeavour within a broader set of operations.

Such a broader, contemporary approach then incorporates not just the scopes of work for the removal of oil and gas assets but also other maritime work that may be executed in the same time window using the same assets such as the installation, sustainment and eventual decommissioning of offshore wind.

A vision for a sustainable decommissioning future

As the volumes of impending decommissioning increase, it is timely to envision what a truly sustainable decommissioning future could entail.

One where work is executed collectively, utilising locally sourced skills and equipment whenever possible, where increasingly large percentages of materials are recycled through local, regional or global networks, and where the companies involved form part of a diverse and long-lived pipeline of profitable work.

This allows them the capacity to invest in new solutions, skills and technologies. Such a future also incorporates adjacent industries such as onshore well P&A, ship recycling, and the deployment, maintenance and decommissioning of offshore wind, enabling businesses to diversify their revenue streams.

However, achieving a future like this requires numerous small and large changes. The regulatory landscape needs to embrace variability in the timing of work execution to allow for the planning of campaigns of activity in a low-risk manner.

There is also a need for greater regulatory and legislative clarity to facilitate the cross-border movement of materials. Title holders must be comfortable sharing some of the risks of a more flexible, multi-party decommissioning landscape.

This sharing enables them to see the broader benefits of improved access to facilities and cost reductions derived from these campaigns.

The service sector must be prepared to work in new, more collaborative ways to share the risks and opportunities as well as accommodate greater movement of personnel between companies.

The academic community must engage more openly with industry to address real and emerging questions, while education and training providers work to equip the workforce with the skills needed to readily enter the world of decommissioning.

Perception is reality

If all that is openly discussed in press releases and on stages of energy conferences are new developments and the need to continue to produce hydrocarbons, the trust gap between industry and the broad community will persist, and continue to grow.

This not only risks fostering increasing resistance to the oil and gas industry as a whole but also erects greater barriers to any new developments. Executing decommissioning work discretely, no matter how efficiently does a disservice to the industry.

As the necessary last phase in the life of every facility, decommissioning is meticulously planned, budgeted, and executed with the same level of rigour and commitment as any other phase.

However, it receives significantly less external exposure compared to the more glamorous new developments.

Rarely does a decommissioning project feature in the pages of the business or industry press, and it’s equally uncommon to hear oil and gas executives discuss their organisation’s decommissioning efforts.

This silence represents a significant missed opportunity for the industry to showcase its commitment, and dedication to a sustainable future.

Regardless of how long the transition to alternate energy sources takes, demonstrating an ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility will make the journey much smoother.

Companies openly and proudly sharing their closure and removal of redundant facilities, as they do with new discoveries, will offer multiple benefits to the industry.

In an era where both society and individual employees demand greater environmental stewardship from the business community than in previous years, embracing a future that includes facility end-of-life and material recycling will only become an increasing expectation.

Let’s bring decommissioning out of the shadows, build partnerships across the ecosystem, seek allies in industries such as offshore wind to collaborate on common issues, and share the inspiring stories of successful decommissioning project execution, the businesses and jobs created, and the recycling industries supported through these achievements.