Work is underway to encourage cross-sector collaboration between the UK and the Netherlands on future decommissioning opportunities.
A late life and decommissioning special interest group (SIG), which involves Decom North Sea, predicts there are more than 1,200 wells to be abandoned in the Southern North Sea (SNS), including the Netherlands.
The SIG has been set up by East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) to investigate the potential of shared interests between the countries and to encourage UK firms to bid for Dutch contracts.
Decom North Sea director Stuart Wordsworth, leads the UK-Dutch SIG.
“The understanding is that the assets in the southern gas basin are very similar. The equipment, the methodology should be very similar, so is there value in working the problem together?
“There is great potential between the contractors to make the work more affordable, there should be value between operators, there could be value for the regulator and there should be a lot of value for service companies in the region.”
Mr Wordsworth says initial discussions have taken place with representatives from the Dutch sector, with terms of reference for the first 12 months established.
“We’ve had some calls them and they seem keen to work with us, so it looks positive at the moment.
“There’s hundreds of wells and tens of platforms to abandon. It’s all right there to claim.”
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