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Australian Energy Producers Journal Australian Energy Producers Journal Society
Journal of Australian Energy Producers
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Non peer reviewed)

Where to from here for Australian decommissioning

Francis Norman A *
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A Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA), Perth, WA, Australia.

The APPEA Journal 63 S318-S320 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ22228
Accepted: 15 February 2023   Published: 11 May 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of APPEA.

Abstract

The size and scale of Australia’s upcoming decommissioning workload isbecoming increasingly apparent with an identified potential offshore decommissioning cost of around US$40 billion, 50% of which is anticipated to commence this decade. Preparing to address this volume of work with little previous local experience and limited access to technologies and facilities is exposing industry to significant risks. Preparation to undertake this work will require all parts of the decommissioning sector to come together in ways industry has not in the past. Solving the decommissioning trilemma of end state, timeliness and cost in a way that delivers the best possible environmental and ESG outcomes will not be easy. Operators need to be able to share future plans to enable them to coordinate vessels and tooling; service sector needs visibility of the workload so they can prepare themselves and offer the best solutions; regulators need to be able to manage their workload, assess activities and ensure compliance without imposing unnecessary burdens or risks on activities, and; governments need to meet their expectations of content, local employment and outcomes. All these need to be achieved in a cost-conscious way alongside growing pressures on the sector from new offshore developments such as wind. This paper will unpack many of the above challenges and highlight CODA’s ongoing work to build an inclusive Australian decommissioning community of practice, ready to undertake the next decades of activity.

Keywords: decommissioning, disposal, ESG, infrastructure development, recycling, regional development, supply chain capacity, technology.

Dr Francis Norman is the CEO and Managing Director of the Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA). Prior to taking the inaugural CEO position with CODA, Francis worked as General Manager with National Energy Resources Australia (NERA) from 2016 to 2021, joining NERA following a 30 year career holding engineering and executive positions in a global engineering and project delivery company which saw him holding a number of long-term international postings. Francis is a Fellow and past WA Division President of Engineers Australia, a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and the International Centre for Complex Project Management (ICCPM). He holds an MSc in Project Management and a PhD in Management.


References

Centre of Decommissioning Australia (CODA) (2021) Offshore Oil and Gas Decommissioning Liability (Australia). Available at https://www.decommissioning.org.au/work/offshore-oil-and-gas-decomissioning-liabiltiy-australia/

CODA (2022) Development of a Decommissioning Innovation and Technology Roadmap. Available at https://www.decommissioning.org.au/work/development-of-a-decomissioning-innovation-and-technology-roadmap/