Offshore decommissioning horizon scan: Research priorities to support decision-making activities for oil and gas infrastructure

Sarah M Watson; Dianne L McLean; Brian J Balcom; Silvana N R Birchenough; Alison M Brand; Elodie C M Camprasse; Jeremy T Claisse; Joop W P Coolen; Tom Cresswell; Bert Fokkema; Susan Gourvenec; Lea-Anne Henry; Chad L Hewitt; Milton S Love; Amy E MacIntosh; Michael Marnane; Emma McKinley; Shannon Micallef; Deborah Morgan; Joseph Nicolette; Kristen Ounanian; John Patterson; Karen Seath; Allison G L Selman; Iain M Suthers; Victoria L G Todd; Aaron Tung; Peter I Macreadie

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163015

Offshore decommissioning horizon scan: Research priorities to support decision-making activities for oil and gas infrastructure

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jun 20:878:163015. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163015. Epub 2023 Mar 24.

Authors

Sarah M Watson¹, Dianne L McLean², Brian J Balcom³, Silvana N R Birchenough⁴, Alison M Brand⁵, Elodie C M Camprasse¹, Jeremy T Claisse⁶, Joop W P Coolen⁷, Tom Cresswell⁸, Bert Fokkema⁹, Susan Gourvenec¹⁰, Lea-Anne Henry¹¹, Chad L Hewitt¹², Milton S Love¹³, Amy E MacIntosh¹⁴, Michael Marnane¹⁵, Emma McKinley¹⁶, Shannon Micallef¹⁷, Deborah Morgan¹⁸, Joseph Nicolette¹⁹, Kristen Ounanian²⁰, John Patterson²¹, Karen Seath²², Allison G L Selman²³, Iain M Suthers²⁴, Victoria L G Todd²⁵, Aaron Tung²⁶, Peter I Macreadie¹

Affiliations

¹ Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Burwood, VIC 3125, Australia.
² Australian Institute of Marine Science, Indian Ocean Marine Research Centre, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia; Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia. Electronic address: d.mclean@aims.gov.au.
³ CSA Ocean Sciences Inc., Paso Robles, CA 93446, USA.
⁴ The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft NR33 0HT, United Kingdom.
⁵ Manta Environmental Limited, Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.
⁶ California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91786, USA; Vantuna Research Group, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA 90041, USA.
⁷ Wageningen Marine Research, Den Helder, the Netherlands.
⁸ Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, New Illawarra Road, Lucas Heights, New South Wales 2234, Australia.
⁹ Shell Global Solutions International B.V., 2596HR The Hague, the Netherlands.
¹⁰ Centre of Excellence for Intelligent & Resilient Ocean Engineering, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 7QF, UK.
¹¹ School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings Campus, James Hutton Road, EH9 3FE Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
¹² Harry Butler Institute, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia; Lincoln University, Lincoln, New Zealand.
¹³ Marine Science Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93016, USA.
¹⁴ Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, New Illawarra Road, Lucas Heights, New South Wales 2234, Australia; School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia.
¹⁵ Chevron Energy Technology Pty Ltd, 250 St Georges Terrace, Perth, Western Australia 6000, Australia.
¹⁶ School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.
¹⁷ Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia.
¹⁸ Xodus Group, Xodus House, Huntly Street, Aberdeen AB10 1RS, Scotland, United Kingdom.
¹⁹ Montrose Environmental Solutions Inc., Northridge Road, Sandy Springs, GA 30350, USA.
²⁰ Centre for Blue Governance, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
²¹ University of Aberdeen, School of Law, Aberdeen, UK.
²² Society for Underwater Technology, International Salvage & Decommissioning Committee, UK; Karen Seath Solutions, Anstruther, Scotland, UK.
²³ Asset Lifecycle Manager, Atteris Pty Ltd, Perth, Western Australia 6000, Australia.
²⁴ School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
²⁵ Ocean Science Consulting Ltd., Spott Road, Dunbar, East Lothian EH42 1RR, Scotland, United Kingdom.
²⁶ University of Aberdeen, School of Law, Aberdeen, UK; Curtin Institute for Energy Transition, Technology Park, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia; Woodside Energy, Mia Yellagonga, 11 Mount Street, Perth, Western Australia 6000, Australia.

PMID: 36965737
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163015

Abstract

Thousands of oil and gas structures have been installed in the world's oceans over the past 70 years to meet the population's reliance on hydrocarbons. Over the last decade, there has been increased concern over how to handle decommissioning of this infrastructure when it reaches the end of its operational life. Complete or partial removal may or may not present the best option when considering potential impacts on the environment, society, technical feasibility, economy, and future asset liability. Re-purposing of offshore structures may also be a valid legal option under international maritime law where robust evidence exists to support this option. Given the complex nature of decommissioning offshore infrastructure, a global horizon scan was undertaken, eliciting input from an interdisciplinary cohort of 35 global experts to develop the top ten priority research needs to further inform decommissioning decisions and advance our understanding of their potential impacts. The highest research priorities included: (1) an assessment of impacts of contaminants and their acceptable environmental limits to reduce potential for ecological harm; (2) defining risk and acceptability thresholds in policy/governance; (3) characterising liability issues of ongoing costs and responsibility; and (4) quantification of impacts to ecosystem services. The remaining top ten priorities included: (5) quantifying ecological connectivity; (6) assessing marine life productivity; (7) determining feasibility of infrastructure re-use; (8) identification of stakeholder views and values; (9) quantification of greenhouse gas emissions; and (10) developing a transdisciplinary decommissioning decision-making process. Addressing these priorities will help inform policy development and governance frameworks to provide industry and stakeholders with a clearer path forward for offshore decommissioning. The principles and framework developed in this paper are equally applicable for informing responsible decommissioning of offshore renewable energy infrastructure, in particular wind turbines, a field that is accelerating rapidly.

Keywords: Decision-making, evidence-based; Decommissioning; Infrastructure; Offshore; Oil and gas; Subsea.