Decommissioning Planning

The overall decommissioning project, from Cessation of Production (COP) to final site remediation, is a multi-year undertaking. Throughout each of the main project stages, the associated activities have been planned in consultation with relevant stakeholders. These stakeholders include industry regulators and other users of the marine environment.

Consultation on the decommissioning of the Greater Dunlin Area commenced in 2010 and those discussions on specific aspects of the decommissioning proposals have been the backdrop for a collaborative process to determine the most appropriate solutions for the decommissioning challenges that balance considerations for the environment, safety, technical feasibility, and socio-economic impact.

The overall decommissioning scope has been captured in a total of six decommissioning programmes – Osprey, Merlin, Dunlin Subsea Infrastructure, Export Pipeline, Dunlin Alpha Topsides and Dunlin Alpha Substructure. All but the Substructure Decommissioning Programme (DP) have been approved, executed and closed-out with the competent authority (the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning). The Substructure DP is still under consideration by the competent authority and is a key focus for Dunlin Management Limited moving forward.