Decom cost set at £39bn

Decommissioning the North Sea could cost an estimated £59.7billion but the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has set a goal of completing the work for less than £39billion.

Operations director Gunther Newcombe said “significant change” would be needed in the industry if the lower figure is to be achieved. OGA’s new estimate is

“Challenge to save industry and taxpayer money”

based on data from 34 operators and covers the cost of dismantling all current and proposed offshore facilities.

Mr Newcombe said: “In our Decommissioning Strategy, we said we needed to better understand the true cost of decommissioning and then work to reduce these costs by at least 35%. The challenge now is to save industry and the taxpayer money and achieve safe decommissioning for £39billion or less.”