Friday 13 April 2018

Maersk divisions form oil and gas decommissioning business

Danish offshore driller Maersk Drilling and vessel provider Maersk Supply Service have established a joint venture to focus on closing down old oil and gas infrastructure.

The companies say an increasing amount of offshore oil and gas fields are approaching the end of their economic life and expect more than 400 in the North Sea alone to cease production by 2026 at an estimated cost of $56 billion (£39bn).

The firm will initially offer bundled solutions for up to 80% of the decommissioning process, including the plugging and abandonment of wells, towing away floating units and the removal of subsea infrastructure.

In the longer term, the joint venture plans to provide the full end-to-end process of decommissioning.

Jørn Madsen, CEO of Maersk Drilling, said: “With the growing need for decommissioning mature fields, governments and oil and gas operators are looking for experienced partners to manage and perform this challenging task.

"By leveraging the strong track record of the two companies, as well as our complementary asset base and competencies, we can lower the risk and reduce the overall cost for the customers.”