PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Australian government has released an issue paper on offshore decommissioning, which has highlighted the opportunities for the oil and gas sector.

Speaking in Parliament, Resources Minister Madeleine King said that the Australian oil and gas industry would spend A$60-billion to remove, dismantle, scrap and recycle ageing offshore infrastructure over the next 30 to 50 years.

Decommissioning involves removing oil and gas infrastructure, permanently and securely plugging all disused wells, and rehabilitating the marine environment. There is also an opportunity to recycle much of this material onshore. 

“Establishing a decommissioning industry in Australia will provide immense economic opportunities and create well-paid jobs in regional communities,” King said.

“While this is an extraordinary task for the offshore resources industry, it is also an extraordinary economic opportunity for Australia. 

“With the right policies and regulatory settings, and by harnessing the expertise of our existing offshore resources workforce, we can capture this economic opportunity and build a vibrant maritime decommissioning economy,” she told Parliament.

Australian law requires that the offshore resources industry pays all costs associated with decommissioning offshore oil and gas infrastructure. The government’s objective is to identify opportunities to maximise the benefits of this industry investment to all Australians. 

“The Australian government wants as much of the anticipated A$60-billion in spending to remove old oil and gas infrastructure to be spent backing Australian ingenuity and jobs. We want to build an industry to service not just ageing offshore oil and gas assets in Australia, but also meet future demand for sustainably decommissioning offshore windfarms at the end of their productive life,” King said.

The Minister said the May Budget included A$4.5-million to develop a decommissioning roadmap, to be released in 2024.

To help inform the roadmap, King has released an issue paper and called for industry and public feedback on barriers and potential opportunities for decommissioning in areas including infrastructure and adjacent industries, the workforce, First Nations engagement, waste management and recycling, and regulatory frameworks.

“The roadmap will examine how we can capture this significant economic opportunity in the years and decades ahead,” King said on Wednesday.

“It will examine infrastructure requirements, explore regulatory best-practice, and map the services that we will need to help underpin a decommissioning industry in Australia. The roadmap will identify opportunities to create new, high-paying, high-skill jobs in the regions, supporting the transition of our existing offshore workforce.

“The roadmap will explore how a decommissioning industry can provide services to adjacent industries like offshore wind, and it will identify opportunities to export our expertise to the Asia-Pacific.

“The roadmap will also explore how a decommissioning industry could facilitate onshore reuse and recycling opportunities,” she added.