Whilst many industry commentators have quite rightly welcomed the recent budget decision on tax credit transfer, the fact remains that even with the new arrangement, decommissioning remains a very poor deal for the UK taxpayer.
The fall in the world price of crude has been at the centre of a number of obstacles that are currently stifling many North Sea M&A transactions. This factor, along with a lack of acquisition finance and the persistent gap between the price sellers want for assets and the one buyers are prepared to pay, is making valuations hard to land. Where late life assets are concerned, decommissioning liabilities, which can often erode any value in what might otherwise be a viable transaction, are proving another major issue, preventing many deals from getting over the line.
As an industry which remains vitally important to the Scottish, and UK, economy, the Scottish Government has long been a vocal champion of North Sea oil and gas.
A Norwegian firm has developed a new way of plugging and abandoning wells without the use of a drilling rig in a move expected to save companies huge sums.
The company’s engineering and consultancy group, appointed to the job after a tender process, has returned with a governance framework for SSE’s decommissioning and demolition (D&D) practice.
If you were to ask someone in Scotland to name a fishing town, chances are they would say Peterhead. But what if you asked the same question in 400 years’ time?
Centrica has enlisted Babcock International to help it plan the decommissioning of the Rough 47/8A platforms and infrastructure in the southern North Sea.
Dutch firm Heerema will take its Hermod semi-submersible crane vessel out of action at the end of 2017, bringing down the curtain on nearly 40 years of service.
New Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has said decommissioning could become a “major industry” in the North Sea and create thousands of jobs – if it’s done properly.
A group of companies say the “stars are aligning” for the development of a new single-lift construction vessel (SLCV) which could take a chunk out of North Sea decommissioning costs.