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Written question asked by Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 9 December 2021, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 23 December 2021. It was answered by Lord Callanan (Conservative) on Monday, 20 December 2021 on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Offshore Industry

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs of decommissioning (1) existing oil and gas infrastructure, and (2) extant oil and gas licences which have not yet been granted planning approval.

Answer

According to the Oil and Gas Authority’s ‘UKCS Decommissioning Cost Estimate 2021’ report (copy attached), the total cost of decommissioning UK Continental Shelf offshore oil and gas infrastructure has reduced to £46bn[1] equating to a projected saving of nearly £14bn (23%) since the 2017 cost reduction target[2] was first established.

With extant oil and gas licences which have not yet been granted planning approval, we do not know which will be developed, so it is not possible to say how much they will cost to decommission, although the Oil and Gas Authority’s UK Continental Shelf full portfolio estimate referenced in the report attached includes £2bn for planned but as yet unsanctioned/not-built projects.

[1] Costs shown in 2016 prices, for expenditure in 2017 and after

[2] Basis of 2017 estimate, 2016 Annual OGA Stewardship survey

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL4848
Session
2021-22
Attachment
UKCS Decommissioning Cost Estimate 2021
Subjects
Decommissioning Costs Licensing Offshore structures Offshore industry
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk