Regulation and Policy

This week's DecomWorld news brief includes The UK Treasury, DECC; Oil & Gas UK, Norwegain Oil Industry Association (OLF); Oil & Gas UK; Oil & Gas UK; D3 Consulting and more.

UK: Oil and gas industry remains a vital asset

UK Energy Minister Charles Hendry has stated that the oil and gas industry remains a vital asset to the UK as the nation move towards a low carbon economy.

Hendry mentioned that the plan is to work closely with industry to realise the full potential of the North Sea and promote further investment and exploration activity.

“I hope the Fiscal Forum will enhance our efforts to secure the future of this critical industry,” he said.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Chloe Smith chaired the first meeting of a group set up to boost engagement with the sector this week. The Fiscal Forum was established by the Government in September 2011 to encourage constructive discussion on tax issues with the oil and gas sector and this week’s meeting at the Treasury marked the first in a regular series of such events.

The Fiscal Forum consists of Ministers and representatives from the Treasury, Department of Energy and Climate Change and oil and gas companies operating in the UK Continental Shelf.

Ministers and representatives from companies across the oil and gas industry discussed a range of fiscal issues, including ongoing work on decommissioning tax relief and encouraging investment in marginal fields. Ministers remain keen to hear the views of the sector, as work in these areas continues to be taken forward.

It also emerged that the Treasury is to continue seeking the views and expertise of industry on fiscal issues affecting the North Sea.

At Budget 2011, the Government committed to working with industry with the aim of announcing further, long-term certainty on decommissioning at Budget 2012. Recognising the importance of continued investment in the North Sea, including in marginal fields, the Government said it would also consider with industry the case for introducing a new category of field that would qualify for field allowance.

International emergency response arrangement strengthened

A major international offshore emergency response arrangement has been strengthened, updated and signed-up to again by six oil and gas trade associations.

Operators’ Cooperative Emergency Services (OCES) is a joint declaration among the national oil and gas trade associations of the UK, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and the Irish Republic. OCES is the organisational framework under which oil and gas companies operating in the waters of the North Sea and adjacent waters of the North West European Continental Shelf co-operate and share resources in the event of an emergency situation.

The arrangement means operating companies can call on each other for support in emergency situations – regardless of national boundaries.

The Associations are: Oil & Gas UK, Danish Operators (representation by Maersk Oil), Wirtschaftsverband Erdoel-und Erdgasgewinnung eV (WEG), Irish Offshore Operators Association (IOOA), Netherlands Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Association (NOGEPA), Norwegain Oil Industry Association (OLF).

OCES has been in place since 1979 and reviewed periodically since. However, in the immediate aftermath of the Macondo incident in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG) recommended a new review of the arrangement.

While it is not a legally binding agreement, it sets out the principles under which co-operative emergency services to offshore oil and gas operations may be provided quickly and efficiently. The agreement facilitates companies helping each other out in times of need, right across the North West European offshore arena. It could involve the use of specialist services, equipment or vessels.  

Oil & Gas UK publishes guidelines for well operations

Industry trade association Oil & Gas UK has come up with two new publications for well operations. These guidelines, being produced by the Well Life Cycle Practices Forum (WLCPF) to help well-operators comply more effectively with regulations and improve cross industry understanding of well-related issues on the UK continental shelf, provide guidance on relief well planning and focus on competency for wells personnel.

The WLCPF, which has now delivered four sets of guidelines to disseminate good practice and further enhance the oil and gas industry’s understanding of a range of issues relating to the well life cycle, identified the need for guidelines that outline the degree of relief well planning that operators should undertake before submitting an Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (OPEP) to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), prior to obtaining consent for drilling operations. In the UK, operators are required to provide an OPEP for any offshore installation involved in oil and gas exploration and production including subsea well activities.

It’s been just over a year since the WLCPF was established as a permanent industry forum following the recommendations put forward by the UK’s Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group (OSPRAG). All the guidelines produced by WLCPF aim to reduce the risk of a major well incident in the UK by sharing a good understanding of well integrity issues.

D3 Consulting unveils venture, wins projects

Demolition, decommissioning and decontamination experts Martin Bjerregaard, formerly of Golder Associates and Alan Ramsay, formerly DPSi Consutling Engineers, have officially announced their joint business partnership, D3 Consulting.

The company, formed in June last year, is providing support and specialist services to clients in North Sea sector oil and gas production.

D3 Consulting offers engineering advice, support and management to clients in need of decommissioning, decontamination and demolition by both conventional methods and the controlled use of explosives together with all normal civil and structural consultancy services.

As stated by the company, it has been associated with Veolia Environmental Services (via Golder Associates), various sites in the UK). Its role: CDM coordinator for the onshore disposal of the Shell Indefatigable gas production platforms carried out at Veolia’s decommissioning facility in Wallsend, Newcastle. Plus, it has also been associated with Golder Associates for BP (CDM coordinator for the onshore disposal of the BP NW Hutton production platform carried out at Able Limited’s decommissioning facility in Hartlepool, County Durham).