A new survey indicates that decommissioning is both a major challenge and one of the most significant engines for corporate growth in the Asia-Pacific market. It could be worth as much as $32billion on current estimates.
DecomWorld, which conducted the survey with over 100 offshore experts working in the Asia-Pacific decommissioning industry, has released the findings ahead of the upcoming 4th Offshore Decommissioning Workshop in Singapore.
It said that in just over a decade, more than 800 new structures have been installed across Asia-Pacific region bringing the total of offshore structures to almost 1,800.
With roughly 700 assets coming up to or exceeding the 25-year mark, the decommissioning market presents large liabilities for operators and a potentially lucrative market for contractors.
The survey found that 86.5% of respondents believe decommissioning is going to be a big challenge for the Asia-Pacific industry due to lack of regulatory understanding and limited opportunities to interact with regulators, lack of training and experience of their personnel, lack of accurate cost estimates for projects, a paucity of experienced contractors in the region, and concerns over financing abandonment projects.
Despite these concerns, 89.6% believe their own company is fairly well prepared for the decommissioning of their own projects.
According to DecomWorld, a strong trend in the survey was the belief that decommissioning will be a source of opportunity in the future. This reflects the situation perceived in the UK, which aspires to be a world leader in decommissioning large offshore structures especially.
Projections offered by respondents show that despite decommissioning in Asia-Pac having stumbled in the past few years, over the next five years, companies will be gearing up for decommissioning, and this will have a major role in their future growth.
Some 54% said decommissioning will be a big part of their business over the next five years, and 74% said it will present their company with new opportunities in 2013.
The survey also revealed that Indonesia is perceived as having the most need for decommissioning services within the next few years, followed by Malaysia, Thailand, China, Australia, Vietnam, Singapore, and India.