Shell Consults on UK Brent Decommissioning Options

Anglo-Dutch major Shell has begun a 60-day public consultation on its recommendations for decommissioning the Brent oil and gas field in the UK North Sea.

Consultations normally last 30 days but, owing to the quantity of the data, this time it has been allowed 60 days, Shell told NGW February 8, the day it presented its recommendations for examination by the UK government's Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis).

The field, 115 miles northeast of the Shetland Islands, has produced around 3bn barrels of oil equivalent since production started in 1976, which is almost 10% of UK production. Brent Delta ceased producing in 2011, as did Brent Alpha and Brent Bravo in November 2014. Brent Charlie will keep producing for several years to come.

In its statement, it said: "Shell is recommending that the upper steel jacket on the Brent Alpha platform is removed, along with the topsides of the four Brent platforms, debris lying on the seabed, and the attic oil contained within the concrete storage cells of the gravity base structures. The three gravity base structures, Brent Alpha footings, the sediment contained within the concrete storage cells of the gravity base structures (Brent Bravo, Brent Charlie and Brent Delta), and the drill cuttings piles remain in place. This recommendation will require consultation with and support of the Ospar Commission, the body established under the Ospar Convention to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic. A range of options are outlined in the decommissioning plan to deal with the 28 pipelines connected to the Brent field."

If Beis accepts the recommendations having reviewed the consultations, it will then seek the support for the necessary derogations on Shell's behalf from the Ospar Commission, the secretariat acting on behalf of 15 governments and the EU that upholds the Ospar Convention.  

Brent topsides

(Credit: Shell)

Shell's Brent decommissioning asset manager Duncan Manning said that Shell had "undertaken thorough analysis, extensive scientific research and detailed consultation with over 180 stakeholder organisations over the past 10 years. Working within the tightly defined regulatory process, we believe that our recommendations are safe, technically achievable, environmentally sound and financially responsible. Shell encourages all those with an interest in the decommissioning of the Brent field to review, reflect on and respond to this consultation document.” 

Work to prepare for Brent decommissioning started in 2006. More than 300 expert studies have been completed and the results analysed and verified by a group of independent scientists. Shell has also engaged with around 400 stakeholders, including NGOs, academics and key interest groups, including but not limited to the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation.

William Powell