THE Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has launched a search for operators to take part in a pilot scheme designed to save money on well plug and abandonment (P&A) initiatives, writes Greg Russell.
Participation in the P&A optimisation programme is voluntary and is aimed at showing the potential savings from collaborative working, to stimulate work-sharing campaigns and adopt improved execution and contracting models.
Those selected to take part will work alongside the OGA and its appointed project manager for the selection phase, Lloyd’s Register (LR), to examine how a collaborative well P&A programme can be executed in 2018-19.
Jim Christie, the OGA’s head of decommissioning, said: “Targeted cost efficiency programmes, extensive knowledge sharing and best practice adoption is a priority of our decommissioning strategy.
“While estimates of cost, scale and scope vary, there is no doubt that the decommissioning effort facing our basin is significant.
“We must act now to capitalise on the opportunity it presents for innovation, cost reduction and further development of our skilled supply chain.”
Among the OGA’s prerequisites for participants is a desire to work collaboratively with the OGA and other operators to minimise costs.
They may also be asked to adopt a different contracting and business model, as well as demonstrating transparency in the sharing of data from the project with the wider decommissioning community.
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