- NSTA 开始调查错过油井退役最后期限的情况
- 到 2032 年，退役费用可能高达 240 亿英镑
- 运营商被告知要支持英国的供应链，否则将面临瓶颈和价格上涨的风险

行业监管机构警告称，北海运营商必须采取行动进行油井退役，以支持英国的供应链，清理其石油和天然气遗留问题，并阻止成本螺旋式上升。

油井封堵和废弃 (P&A) 工作一再推迟、海外钻井平台的竞争以及成本压力，正在推高英国大陆架退役的预计费用。

北海过渡局 (NSTA) 在最新的退役成本和绩效更新中列出了这些事实，该机构对不履行油井退役监管义务的运营商采取了严厉的措施。

NSTA 供应链和退役总监 Pauline Innes 于 2023 年 11 月致信许可证持有者，敦促他们在封堵和废弃油井方面取得进展，并警告不遵守规定的人将被追究责任。

NSTA 监管局成员现已开始调查未按照批准的计划及时完成封堵和废弃作业的情况。

一旦停止生产，运营商必须保持海洋环境清洁安全，并且法律要求其平台、管道和油井退役，这是一个复杂且昂贵的过程，需要彻底的准备和规划。

拖延时间太长或推迟工作会增加成本，并且可能意味着平台即使不再生产石油和天然气，仍会继续使用电力并排放废气。

行业分享知识、吸取教训和制定稳健计划的能力有助于在 2017 年至 2022 年期间将退役成本估计降低 150 亿英镑，从而降低国库的税收减免成本。然而，进一步的改进很难实现，因为许多唾手可得的成果已经被采摘。

运营商预计在 2023 年至 2032 年期间将在退役上花费约 240 亿英镑，比去年报告中同期的预测高出 30 亿英镑。总估计的 400 亿英镑（按 2021 年不变价格计算）中的一半以上将在这 10 年期间花费，这表明短期行动将为该行业指明方向。现在植入良好实践并在供应链能力和服务需求之间取得平衡至关重要。

一些运营商继续合作、表现出色并实现节约，但大多数运营商需要通过加倍规划来改进。去年，运营商在退役方面花费了约 20 亿英镑，这与预测一致，但完成的工作量远低于原计划。

他们还需要提高油井 P&A 的水平，这是退役中最昂贵的方面。运营商可以通过尽早与英国世界领先的供应链合作，提供其停产油井的详细信息，最重要的是签订合同来完成工作，从而控制成本并履行监管义务。

随着越来越多的油气田关闭，每年将有数百口油井需要退役。然而，去年运营商仅完成了计划油井退役活动的 70%。

一些运营商推迟了退役，希望未来几年价格会下降。然而，未能授予合同会降低供应链的收入以及投资产能和资源的能力。钻井承包商正在积极寻找其他地区的机会，这些地区的运营商提供更长、更安全的合同。如果这种趋势继续下去，价格将会上涨，市场预测反映出这一点。

除了探索使用制裁措施外，NSTA 还牵头开展一个项目，以确定哪些英国大陆架油井将在 2026 年至 2030 年之间准备退役，并评估及时且经济高效地开展这项工作所需的供应链能力。这些见解将指导我们努力推动和促进涉及多个运营商和油田的油井退役活动，这种方法可以节省时间和金钱。Pauline

Innes 表示：“预计本十年的支出将达到每年 25 亿英镑的峰值，退役可以确保英国世界领先的供应链能够帮助运营商在未来 50 年内清理其石油和天然气基础设施，并支持将依赖许多相同资源的碳储存行业。

“我担心，如果运营商未能解决其油井退役积压问题，那么这一保障高技能工作和支持转型的巨大机会将被浪费。供应链希望完成这项工作，但它与英国没有实体联系。其他地区对它的技能和资源有需求，我们开始看到公司在其他地方销售他们的钻机。运营商现在需要利用供应链，否则就有失去它的风险。”

- NSTA opens investigations into missed deadlines for well decommissioning
- £24bn could be spent on decommissioning by 2032
- Operators told to back the UK’s supply chain or risk bottlenecks and price rises

North Sea operators must take action on well decommissioning to support the UK’s supply chain, clean up their oil and gas legacy and stop costs spiralling, the industry regulator has warned.

Repeated delays to well plugging and abandonment (P&A) work, competition for rigs from overseas and cost pressures are pushing up the estimated bill for decommissioning on the UK Continental Shelf.

The facts are laid out in the latest Decommissioning Cost and Performance Update from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), which is getting tough on operators who do not meet their regulatory obligations on well decommissioning.

Pauline Innes, the NSTA’s Supply Chain and Decommissioning Director, wrote to licensees in November 2023 urging them to make headway on the plugging and abandonment of wells and warning that those failing to comply will be held to account.

Members of the NSTA’s Directorate of Regulation have now commenced investigations relating to alleged failures to complete timely plugging and abandonment in line with approved plans.

Operators must leave the marine environment clean and safe once they stop producing, and are legally required to decommission their platforms, pipelines and wells, a complex and expensive process which requires thorough preparation and planning.

Taking too long, or deferring work, adds to the cost and can mean that platforms continue to use power and release emissions even though they are no longer producing oil and gas.

Industry’s ability to share knowledge, learn lessons and produce robust plans helped lower the decommissioning cost estimate by £15bn between 2017 and 2022, reducing the cost of tax reliefs to the Exchequer. However, further improvements have been difficult to achieve as much of the low-hanging fruit has been picked.

Operators expect to spend about £24bn on decommissioning between 2023 and 2032, up £3bn on the forecast for the same period in last year’s report. More than half of the overall estimate of £40bn (in constant 2021 prices) is to be spent during this 10-year period, which shows near-term actions will set the direction for the sector. Embedding good practice now and striking a balance between supply chain capacity and demand for its services is crucial.

Pockets of operators continue to collaborate, perform admirably and deliver savings, but the majority need to improve by doubling down on their planning. Operators spent around £2bn on decommissioning last year, which was in line with forecasts, but they completed much less work than originally planned.

They also need to deliver an uptick in well P&A, the most expensive aspect of decommissioning. Operators can keep their costs under control and meet their regulatory obligations by engaging early with the UK’s world-leading supply chain, providing details of their inactive wells and, most importantly, placing contracts to get the work done.

Hundreds of wells will need to be decommissioned every year as more oil and gas fields shut down. However, operators only achieved 70% of planned well decommissioning activities last year.

Some operators are deferring in hope that prices will go down in the coming years. However, failing to award contracts reduces the supply chain’s revenues and ability to invest in capacity and resources. Rig contractors are actively seeking opportunities in other regions where operators offer longer, more secure contracts. If this trend continues, prices will increase, as reflected in market forecasts.

In addition to exploring the use of sanctions, the NSTA is spearheading a project to identify which UKCS wells will be ready for decommissioning between 2026 to 2030 and assess the supply chain capacity required to undertake the work in a timely and cost-effective manner. These insights will guide our efforts to promote and facilitate well decommissioning campaigns involving multiple operators and fields, an approach which can save time and money.

Pauline Innes said: “With spending forecast to peak at £2.5bn per year in the current decade, decommissioning can ensure that the UK’s world-leading supply chain is equipped to help operators clean up their oil and gas infrastructure over the next 50 years and support the carbon storage sector, which will rely on many of the same resources.

“I am concerned that this huge opportunity to safeguard highly-skilled jobs and support the transition will be wasted if operators fail to tackle their well decommissioning backlogs. The supply chain wants to do this work, but it is not physically tied to the UK. Its skills and resources are in demand in other regions, and we are starting to see companies marketing their rigs elsewhere. Operators need to use the supply chain, now, or risk losing it.”