Innovation, collaboration and cost-reduction

In the North Sea alone, more than 400 fields are expected to cease production by 2026 at an estimated cost of USD 56 billion.

Globally, over 700 fields are expected to require decommissioning. Offshore Energy spoke to Jens Klit Thomsen CCO of Maersk Decom on what the outlook is for decommissioning ahead of his presentation during Offshore Energy on this subject.

Maersk Decom was established as a joint venture between Maersk Drilling and Maersk Supply Service to provide bundled decommissioning solutions to oil and gas operators, while leveraging the parent companies’ heritage of over 50 years of safe and efficient operations, high quality assets and technical capabilities. Thomsen: “As a specialised decommissioning company, Maersk Decom can reduce risk and lower costs for our customers, and as the asset owners with extensive marine experience, we know how to use our rigs and vessels to find more efficient ways of carrying out operations.”

Tender early 2019

Initially covering up to 80% of the decommissioning process, Maersk Decom offers project management, well plug and abandonment, towage of floating units and removal of subsea infrastructure. In the long run Maersk Decom plans to provide the full end-to-end process of decommissioning. Thomsen: “We have received positive feedback from the market about the new, dedicated company, as well as a lot of interest in our bundled solutions. We expect to land our first bundled decommissioning tender by early 2019.”

“With more than 400 fields expected to cease production by 2026 in the North Sea alone, there are plenty of decommissioning opportunities,” says Thomsen. Asked if innovation could potentially halt decommissioning projects, Thomsen comments: “On the contrary, we see innovation as a key aspect of decommissioning. We must look to innovate in order to find the best possible solutions that are the safest for all stakeholders involved, including the environment, but also the most efficient and cost effective.”

Think outside the box

Join Jens Klit Thomsen during the Thematic Session: Innovation, collaboration and cost-reduction on Tuesday, October 23, from 15.00 to 17.00 hrs where he will offer a few examples of innovation and collaboration from two of our past projects and how they resulted in significant cost and time savings. “I hope delegates takeaway from my presentation that when we are open to taking a different approach and thinking outside the box, we can find smarter ways to employ our resources to deliver offshore projects in more cost effective ways.”

Join the session!

Thomsen will be joined on stage by Malcolm Newton, Senior Inspection Engineer at Bluestream Offshore and Sibren Bonte of Gusto MSC to discuss how the low oil price has driven cost-reducing innovations and new forms of collaboration in various stages of the oil & gas life cycles. Furthermore, this session will present cases ranging from research and development and real technology deployment to new business models. Nominees of the “Best Innovation in Offshore Energy Award” will have the opportunity to present their submission.

First published in the Offshore Energy Newsflash. Jen Klit Thomsen will be speaking during the Innovation, collaboration and cost-reduction Thematic Session during Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference. Book you tickets for the conference via www.offshore-energy.biz.

This year’s Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference will be held on (22), 23 & 24 October 2018.