Decom North Sea, the Aberdeen-based industry forum set up two years ago to maximise business opportunities from offshore decommissioning, is stepping up its work with the oil and gas supply chain.
The group said yesterday it had recently completed an in-depth consultation to identify priorities for action and set a course of strategic direction for the years ahead.
Chief executive Brian Nixon said: “With around £1billion of decommissioning expenditure forecast annually for the UK North Sea by 2015 and only 7% of projects completed to date, there is a clear need for us to support our supply chain to secure maximum business potential.
“Compelling support was recorded for Decom North Sea to look at increasing current activities.”
The forum aims to hold more networking events, set up “regional and topical” focus groups, and improve industry communication and knowledge sharing.
It is also looking to map out supply-chain strengths and capabilities, and identify any areas of weakness which can be tackled.
Decom was the direct outcome of a consultation study undertaken by Scottish Enterprise in 2008 and early 2009. The forum now has than 120 members, including operators, major contractors, service specialists and technology developers.
Part of the new strategy sees Decom looking overseas for new market opportunities and to promote the expertise of its membership.
Other key priorities include making detailed and reliable market intelligence from industry sources easily accessible by Decom members.
The group also plans to further develop “appropriate” contracting models and research decommissioning in other sectors, including nuclear and salvaging, to identify opportunities for sharing experience and ideas.
Other aims include having a more active role with governments, regulators and operators on behalf of the membership.
Decom chairman Murdo MacIver said: “One of the principle reasons for setting up the forum was to provide a mechanism for sharing non-commercial information and to establish a platform that would allow companies from across the industry to obtain consistent and clear information.
“The recent strategy consultation . . . has fully supported this and it is great to see some real drive and enthusiasm from the board in delivering these strategic objectives.”
Decom North Sea has teamed up with various partners to organise a programme of events, seminars and share fairs, with activity covering much of Scotland and areas in England where there is a strong supply-chain presence. To find out more about future events and how to join, visit www.decomnorthsea.com
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