Approvals Process

The Draft Decommissioning Programme issued in 2018 originally covered both the topsides and the substructure and was accompanied by two key supporting documents: a Comparative Assessment Report and an Environmental Appraisal. However, since that time the two programmes have been separated. The now-approved Final Dunlin Alpha Topsides Decommissioning Programme and associated Topsides Environmental Appraisal both take this separation into account.

Documentation relating to the substructure currently comprises the Dunlin Alpha Substructure Comparative Assessment Report (March 2021) and the Substructure Environmental Appraisal (September 2021). These take account of refinements made following stakeholder and regulatory comments from the 2018 consultation, as well as reflecting the additional, extensive investigative work into the storage cells which has been undertaken.

The substructure decommissioning programme will be finalised after consultation with the international community on a derogation application to leave the Concrete Gravity Base Structure in place under the terms of OSPAR Convention Decision 98/3 on the Disposal of Disused Offshore Installations. This allows for exceptions to be made from the normal requirement for full removal, such as concrete installations like Dunlin Alpha.

The final decommissioning programme submitted for approval to the UK government will take account of the continuing engagement and additional work undertaken since the original statutory and public consultation in 2018.