Applying well decommissioning lessons learned globally to reduce Australia’s estimated USD40.5 billion offshore decommissioning liability.

SPE WA is pleased to announce the second SPE WA Facilities Group Technical Event ‘ Applying well decommissioning lessons learned globally to reduce Australia’s estimated USD40.5 billion offshore decommissioning liability’ lead by Christopher Murphy a Senior Research Fellow from Curtin University Oil and Gas Innovation Centre.

About the Presentation:

Australia is entering a new era in the oil and gas sector with significant offshore decommissioning projects to be executed over the next 50 years.  An executive summary was made public by NERA in March 2020 based on a commissioned Advisian report “Offshore Oil and Gas Decommissioning Liability (Australia)”. The estimated decommissioning liability, including all wells, facilities and pipelines, is USD40.5 billion based on full infrastructure removal.  51% of the estimated costs will be expended in the next ten years, 74% by 2040.  Wells account for 41%, the remainder being facilities and pipelines. Globally, the industry has been decommissioning for many decades and the lessons learned from these operations are important for Australia.  The Advisian report captures a number of these learnings and has quantified the potential cost savings across the key liabilities of wells and pipelines, for example if pipelines are left in-situ (-15%, USD5.9 billion).  If well decommissioning campaigns shared lessons learned, applied “technical limit” and applied new technology (-10%, USD4.1 billion)

However, a recent study by Curtin shows potentially larger cost savings in well decommissioning through cap rock restoration and rigless / riserless techniques applied across the portfolio of ~1,000 Commonwealth offshore wells. The cost reduction possibilities range from 21% to 41% applied to the dry (platform) and wet (subsea) tree portfolio found in Bass Strait (South East) and North West Shelf / Timor Sea (North West). The presentation will highlight the basis for this well cost reduction assertion along with the methodologies developed in other geographic areas and evolved since the 1980’s to reduce decommissioning costs in wells.

About the Speaker:

Christopher Murphy is a Senior Research Fellow with Curtin University Oil and Gas Innovation Centre, Australia. He graduated in 1979 with a BSc Honours in Mining Engineering from Leeds University, UK. Christopher has over 41 years of experience in the oil and gas business and has extensive knowledge of well construction and well and small offshore facilities decommissioning. Christopher was previously Head of

Wells and Production Technology for British Gas and Vice President – Global Marine Solutions for Wild Well Control. The latter position saw him personally involved with over 400 well decommissioning projects and 60 small platform decommissioning operations in the GoM and internationally. He is an SPE member and co-author of a
US patent related to blind annulus isolation in subsea well decommissioning, patent number US 2013/0269948 A1.

Event Details:

Cost: $10 (bring a friend for free, must be on the same registration)  

Date: Tuesday, 18th May

Time: 5:00 pm – 5:30 pm Presentation

5:50 pm – 7:00 pm Networking (refreshments for networking provided)

Venue: RIFF Spaced cubed – 45 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA (Opposite C – restaurant)