A new decommissioning steering group established to lead the sector in delivering efficient, safer, and environmentally sound decommissioning while meeting low carbon targets will be prominent at this year’s Offshore Decommissioning Conference, sponsored by TAQA on November 22-24.
Tasked with setting the sector’s agenda, the cross-industry group will define its decommissioning priorities at OGUK’s flagship event in St Andrews. This year’s Decommissioning Conference offers delegates the opportunity to attend either in person or virtually via a digital platform.
The short to medium term priorities of OGUK’s Decommissioning Steering Group include:
- Maintaining and developing the UK supply chain’s decommissioning expertise and capability
- Promoting the implementation of new technologies
- Delivering decommissioning in a low carbon way to meet climate change emissions targets
- Strengthening relationships between industry and regulators
The Decommissioning Steering Group will cover a range of these topics in the ‘Supply Chain: Resilience, Growth & Competing Priorities’ session at OGUK’s Offshore Decommissioning conference with a particular focus on export opportunities and decommissioning services for low carbon energy markets including the offshore wind sector.
Walter Thain chief executive of THREE60 Energy Group is Chair of the Steering Group and brings to his role three decades of experience in the energy industry together with expertise in developing innovative contract models to deliver cost-effective decommissioning.
Walter Thain said: “This is a pivotal point in our energy industry as we focus on maximising economic recovery of North Sea resources, while applying low carbon thinking to decommissioning so it plays its part in delivering the energy transition. The Decommissioning Steering Group has a fantastic opportunity to fast-track industry priorities ensuring we grow our supply chain’s skills and capabilities to establish the UK as a centre of excellence while ensuring companies are well positioned to make the most of exporting their expertise as other provinces mature.”
Joe Leask OGUK’s decommissioning manager said: “OGUK’s decommissioning steering group and forum are invaluable resources for our sector with members from across the supply chain, operators and academia. With this leading-edge expertise, we can also play a key role in supporting external initiatives run by the Department for International Trade’s export drive and the Oil and Gas Authority’s decommissioning and repurposing task force (DaRT).
Neil McCulloch, industry chair for the OGA’s DaRT, said:
“Cost-effective decommissioning remains a key stewardship obligation and that’s a commitment our industry shares with the Government. OGUK’s Steering Group is a step in the right direction to amplify and accelerate the excellent work the industry is doing. This focuses on improving the visibility of future decommissioning projects in the pipeline, setting and sharing appropriate Key Performance Indicators and benchmarks, adopting and deploying new technology, and establishing mechanisms to improve market intelligence so that we can target the international market where our industry has a competitive advantage.”
OGUK’s Decommissioning Steering Group comprises leading figures drawn from across the sector including Dr Minnie Lu from Wood; Neil Cuthbert from engineering consultancy Kent; Katie Cross from Marine Space, a small to medium enterprise (SME); Iain C.S Lewis from TAQA; John Wiseman from Fairfield Energy; RepsolSinopec UK’s Luis Batalla; EnQuest’s Will Black; Jon Clark from EY and Judith Aldersey-Williams from legal firm CMS.
There are still a few tickets available for OGUK’s Offshore Decommissioning conference and more information and booking information is available at https://offshoredecommissioningconference.co.uk/
For information about joining OGUK’s decommissioning forum, contact Joe Leask at [email protected] or Suzie Coull at [email protected] .
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