Decommissioning pipelines and subsea equipment: legislative issues and decommissioning processes

Abstract

From the Abstract: “The Oslo/Paris (OSPAR) Commission Decision 98/3 has placed an obligation on the UK effectively to preclude the disposal of offshore installations at sea. Decision 98/3 has been enshrined in UK law under the Petroleum Act 1998. However, the Decision does not apply to pipelines, and there are no international guidelines on the long-term decommissioning of pipelines.

The UK Government does provide some guidance on pipeline decommissioning on the UK continental shelf, both through the Guiding Principles, which provide the policy framework for decommissioning decisions, and in the Guidance Notes for Industry, which provide interpretation and guidance for decomm issioning under the Petroleum Act 1998. However, existing guidel ines are concerned with the process of pipeline decommissioning, and the end point for these activities remains open.

This paper considers both the legal framework and the processes for decommissioning pipelines and subsea equipment. Some key issues that need to be addressed are discussed. There is still little by way of precedent for decommissioning pipelines, partly because most major pipelines have not yet reached the end of their economic life-span, but also because there is a conscious desire to defer pipeline decommissioning until the appropriate technology has been developed. Furthermore, with little prescriptive guidance on pipelines, and uncertainty over future OSPAR considerations, there is little incentive for operators to face the challenges of pipeline decommissioning directly in the near future.”