The North Sea is at a turning point. Decades of production have shaped one of the world’s most experienced offshore basins — and today, that experience is being channelled into a new phase: responsible decommissioning.
Across the North Sea, decommissioning is no longer viewed as the end of an asset’s lifecycle, but as a strategic phase requiring early planning, industry collaboration, and expertise across multiple disciplines.
That sentiment was echoed this week at the OEUK Decommissioning 2025 Conference in St Andrews, where our marine & site survey team participated alongside our colleagues from across ABL Group, including the marine consultancy and marine warranty specialists from ABL, and the design and engineering experts from Longitude.
Discussions highlighted a shared conclusion: decommissioning is not just about removal; it is about securing value, managing risk and integrating sustainability into every late-life decision.
Why Decommissioning Has Moved to the Centre Stage?
Across the wider North Sea, the transition is already underway. In 2024, UK decommissioning spend accounted for 15% of total oil and gas expenditure.
Forecasts suggest almost 2,000 wells will require P&A in the UK sector by 2034, and more than 95,000 tonnes of subsea infrastructure are scheduled for removal.
On the NCS, the story is similar. The shelf currently consists of nearly 100 installations and approx 500 subsea systems in operation. Industry outlook suggest that 20–30 fields may reach cessation of production within the next decade, with around 250 platform wells and 50 subsea wells projected to move into the plug and abandonment phase.
The next decade will therefore be defined by a wave of decommissioning activity. The question now is how to execute it cost-efficiently and safely.
The Challenges Ahead
As industry practitioners, we are already seeing the challenge shift – not from what must be done, but how capacity will be managed. Vessel availability, heavy-lift capability, well intervention teams, inspection resources, tooling and disposal infrastructure are already under pressure across the North Sea. Competition for supply-chain capacity from offshore wind projects is expected to intensify this further.
AGR – Part of ABL Group’s Role in Shaping Decommissioning in the North Sea
Modular cutting spreads enable safe and predictable execution while minimising mobilisation requirements, emissions, and cost. It also allows seamless transition between severance, IMR, and other subsea scopes, giving energy companies a truly integrated vessel-deployed solution for end-of-field operations.
This approach is part of our vessel based decommissioning solutions.
In our recent work with Vår Energi, a new external cutting system from IKM Subsea AS was deployed from the Ross Eagle multipurpose vessel, enabling a streamlined operation while minimising logistics and vessel time.
With AGR’s globally recognised track record in well P&A and vessel-based decommissioning, backed by ABL’s decades of marine assurance and operational experience through its Marine Warranty Survey and vessel consultancy teams, and Longitude’s engineering design and technical analysis – ABL Group is well placed to help operators turn decommissioning concepts into safe and cost-efficient operations.
A Responsible End — and a New Beginning
The North Sea built a globally respected offshore industry. Its responsible decommissioning now has the potential to shape a new phase of innovation — one that safeguards safety and environmental integrity while enabling new possibilities, including CCS, rig-to-reef applications, seabed reuse and renewable infrastructure.
Handled well, decommissioning is not a shutdown. It is a strategic transition — and one that will define capability, collaboration and value creation in the North Sea for years to come.