Decommissioning

Consenting and Regulatory Support Services are indispensable partners in the decommissioning process, offering a suite of services that ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and responsible environmental practices. As the industry continues to embrace the challenges of asset retirement, these services play a crucial role in nurturing a sustainable and secure energy future.

Key services for decommissioning include:

• Environmental Impact Assessments
• Environmental Risk Assessment
• Comparative Assessment
• PLANC
• Chemical Risk Assessments
• Compiling Production Permits, Drilling Permits
• Well Intervention Applications and Pipeline Applications
• MAT and SAT’s
• Marine Growth Assessments
• Oil Spill Modelling (OSCAR)
• Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA)
Before embarking on decommissioning projects, it is essential to understand and evaluate the potential environmental consequences. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) provide a systematic analysis of how decommissioning activities may affect the environment, ensuring a holistic understanding of the project’s ecological footprint.

Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA)
Coupled with EIAs, Environmental Risk Assessments (ERA) delve deeper into potential risks associated with decommissioning. By identifying and quantifying environmental risks, ERA enables stakeholders to implement effective mitigation strategies, ensuring that decommissioning activities are executed with minimal impact on the surrounding ecosystem.

Comparative Assessment
Comparative assessments offer a detailed analysis of various decommissioning options, considering environmental, social, and economic factors. This comprehensive approach aids decision-makers in selecting the most suitable strategy that balances the need for asset retirement with sustainable practices.

PLANC – Permits, Licences, Authorisations, Notifications and Consents
Apollo recognises the critical role of navigating regulatory landscapes. PLANC services encompass the compilation and management of Permits, Licences, Authorisations, Notifications, and Consents, ensuring that our clients move through the regulatory process smoothly and compliantly.

Chemical Risk Assessments
Decommissioning may involve handling and disposal of hazardous chemicals. Chemical Risk Assessments ensure that the handling and disposal of such substances comply with regulatory standards, mitigating risks associated with their presence.

Compiling Production Permits, Drilling Permits
Navigating the regulatory landscape requires a thorough understanding of permit requirements. Consenting and Regulatory Support Services assist in compiling necessary permits, including production and drilling permits, streamlining the approval process.

Well Intervention Applications and Pipeline Applications
Well interventions and pipeline applications necessitate meticulous planning and adherence to regulatory guidelines. These services support operators in securing approvals for well interventions and pipeline activities in compliance with regulatory requirements.

MAT (Master Application Template) and SAT (Subsidiary Application Template)
The drilling operations application consists of two elements: the Master Application Template (MAT) and the Subsidiary Application Template (SAT). Completion of the MAT provides access to various SAT’s. Apollo’s meticulous approach ensures that drilling activities adhere to regulatory standards and facilitate a smooth application process.

Marine Growth Assessments
In marine environments, structures are susceptible to marine growth, which can impact decommissioning activities. Marine Growth Assessments evaluate the extent of marine growth, allowing for informed decisions and effective strategies for its removal.

Oil Spill Modelling (OSCAR)
Preparedness for potential oil spills is integral to responsible decommissioning. Oil Spill Modelling (OSCAR) services simulate and predict the trajectory of oil spills, aiding in the development of response plans to minimise environmental impact.

Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)
Safety is paramount during decommissioning, especially when dealing with potentially explosive remnants. UXO services identify and mitigate the risk of unexploded ordnance, ensuring a secure working environment for decommissioning activities.

A well-planned decommissioning project from end of life, cessation of production, engineering down and clean through to removal activities ensures an asset that is maintained in a fit for purpose condition through the decommissioning process. We work with our clients to provide a logic-based plan to assure and efficient decommissioning project.

Apollo can assess your asset to understand if it is structurally sound to be removed and repurposed along with after-market investigation (e.g. conversion to NUI or carbon capture purposes).

It is important to plan for and maintain an asset post CoP to assure the decommissioning process. We work with our clients to understand the decommissioning timeline and plan for either man or unmanned maintenance and operation in the “cold” life of an asset.

Maintaining appropriate power generation capacity in decommissioning is important. It is unlikely that the existing power generation systems will be appropriate for activities in CoP. Apollo can understand power demands post-CoP and provide economic analysis for temporary power solutions in the decommissioning phase. Apollo brings together learnings from other previous decommissioned assets where power generation has been challenging.

Apollo has been involved in many aspects of well P&A, from mechanical analysis of the wellheads through to design support for test rigs for P&A activities. Understanding of mechanical challenges of P&A and removal of wellheads, conductor and casing allows cost and scheduling implications to be clearly understood and how to prioritise activities.

Our in-house subsea and marine engineering team provide project engineering support and solutions to successfully decommission all types of subsea architecture and engineer lift strategies to enable seabed retrieval. Apollo’s expertise includes pipeline flushing and contaminant removal strategies and procedures.

We work with you to identify successful platform decommissioning strategies to allow safe removal of modules whilst maintaining appropriate life support systems on board. We can then engineer these concepts through the project lifecycle for our clients taking a staged approach to the overall removal.

Our marine team can engineer safe lifting, sea fastening and transport methods for decommissioned structures. We have been working with onshore sites to understand how to dispose of equipment, particularly in preparation for scale of word forecasted.

Should you wish it Apollo can provide competent engineers to provide assurance to your project on third party activities and deliverables.