The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Technology to cut costs of scrapping platforms could lead world
Aresearch base with the tools to transform the UK into a global leader in oilfield demolition opened in Aberdeenshire yesterday.
The National Decommissioning Centre (NDC) was unveiled by ministers at a soupedup version of the former Oceanlab test facility in Newburgh.
The Oil and Gas Technology Centre (OGTC) and Aberdeen University, supported by the Aberdeen City Region Deal, have joined forces to launch the £38 million project.
NDC bosses hope to turn the mammoth engineering challenge of North Sea decommissioning into a “competitive advantage” for Britain.
Disposing of UK North Sea infrastructure is expected to cost almost £60 billion, and taxpayers will have to cover nearly half of that.
As the North Sea is the world’s most mature oil region, its infrastructure will be scrapped first. About 100 platforms must be retired in the next 10 years.
It means there are plenty of opportunities to develop technology to cut costs.
Regulators have set a target of slashing the UK’s bill to below £40bn.
If the UK can perfect the art of decommissioning, its skills and products will be in hot demand worldwide.
Much of the technology envisioned by the centre will have applications in other sectors, such as renewables.
The partnership hopes to generate a return of £12bn on the £38m investment by increasing exports and lowering costs.
To help with the task, the facility is kitted out with an array of contraptions, including one of the UK’s most high-powered lasers for cutting steel under water.
It has a chamber for testing materials at temperatures as high as 180C and as low as -40C.
It also boasts a hyperbaric test vessel that can simulate ocean conditions at depths lower than 21,000 ft.
Several projects are already under way at the centre, which is in “advanced discussions” to attract several “anchor partners” from industry.
Launching the centre, Scottish Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse said the “eyes of the world” would be watching how decommissioning is carried out in the UK.
Lord Duncan, UK Government Minister for Scotland, described the NDC as a “real and tangible benefit” of the city region deal.
OGTC chief executive Colette Cohen said: “Decommissioning is not tomorrow’s problem. It’s today’s opportunity. We need to embrace that or we won’t realise the 35% cost reduction. This can be a massive global export opportunity.”
Aberdeen University principal George Boyne added: “We have the expertise to be an international centre that everyone wants to come to. It will attract business and investment, giving us the economic future we all deserve.”