Industry welcomes opportunity for collaboration on decommissioning

Efficient asset management is vitally important in the oil and gas industry, and the increasingly prevalent topic of decommissioning is no exception.

As assets such as offshore oil platforms come to the end of their operational life, discussion must turn to safe, operationally efficient decommissioning practices. This is no simple task, as offshore platforms tend to fall under a complex series of jurisdictions and regulations.

The industry is hard at work to implement best-practice decommissioning outcomes so that it maintains preparedness as further platforms go offline in the coming years.

One good example is BHP, which repurposed large structures from its decommissioned Griffin oil and gas facility to create the Southern Hemisphere’s largest purpose-built artificial reef (King Reef) in Exmouth, Western Australia in 2018.

While different companies proffer different solutions for decommissioning, oil and gas industry collaboration has taken a further step with the launch of the Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA) at the AOG Energy Conference in Perth today.

CODA, an initiative of National Energy Resources Australia (NERA), is committed to the continued development of a credible, evidence-based decommissioning response in Australia. NERA has announced that CODA’s first port of call will be to build “critical early-stage building blocks” for Australia’s decommissioning journey through the launch of several projects culminating in the development of an innovation and technology-focused roadmap.

Backed with the support of several industry majors — including BHP, Chevron, Esso, Santos, and Woodside — CODA represents an exciting development for the Australian oil and gas sector’s decommissioning expertise.

APPEA and its members look forward to the development of the centre and remain committed to responsible asset management that minimises environmental impacts while maximising ecological and economic opportunities for regional communities throughout Australia.