The global offshore business in entering a phase of increased decommissioning activity as more fields are becoming uneconomic to operate. The Asia-Pacific region has the second largest population of offshore facilities and many of these facilities are over 25 years old. As decommissioning of offshore and onshore oil and gas fields represents one of the largest liabilities for the Petroleum industry in the Asia-Pacific, there is an urgent need to manage this area of our business. This decommissioning workshop will consider all assets onshore, offshore, subsea facilities/infrastructure and subsurface (wells).

The emerging reality is our industry globally is not fully prepared, at present, to manage this decommissioning challenge in a manner which balances regulatory requirements, environment, risk, societal and technical in an efficient cost effective manner. Decommissioning is not the reverse of construction as there are many unknowns. These unknowns are driven by, for example, as-is status of old facilities, untested law & regulation and politics which in turn lead to a suspect prediction of the true decommissioning cost. Globally we are at the beginning of a new engineering discipline, decommissioning, and we have much to learn.

As Asia Pacific region, it is still considered to be in its infancy, more guidance and training in this area is becoming a top requirement for organisations to fully understand the key aspects of abandonment to be fully equipped for asset abandonment projects in the future.

PETRONAS has taken the initiative to drive awareness programmes within the region specifically based on the Production Sharing Contracts they have with IOCs. Consequently the Asia Pacific oil and gas industry will be better prepared for the crucial elements of the abandonment process through multiple training sessions by industry experts.

Considering the above, the purpose of this workshop is to explore this emerging reality in an open manner and try at a strategic level to identify and discuss all of the main issues which effect the decommissioning scope of work and hence the cost of decommissioning.

Workshop Objectives

The workshop is intended to create awareness on the emerging reality of asset decommissioning in the region and encourage planning for abandonment during the early productive life of a field. Interactive sessions will cover diverse topics such as:

1. Law and Regulatory Framework

2. Human Factors (Social & Socio-Economic)

3. End of Field Life – Transition from Production to Cessation of Production & Cost Estimation

4. Wells Plug & Abandonment: Ensuring Competent and Qualified Abandonment Practices While Maintaining Cost Reduction and Environmental Objectives

5. Case Studies – Challenges and Common Show-stoppers/Technology Deployment

6. Topsides, Pipelines and Subsea (pros and cons of campaign abandonment approach)

7. Risk and Environment Management