Opportunities for subsea vessels in global decommissioning sector

Pressure from authorities and non-governmental organisations will encourage energy companies to spend more on well plugging and abandonment and decommissioning fixed, floating and subsea infrastructure.

Boston Consulting Group partner and associate director Martha Vasquez expects decommissioning to constitute around 20% of total capital expenditure in offshore oil and gas basins.

Decommissioning investment will be highest where there are multiple mature production assets coming to the end of their lives, said Ms Vasquez in an exclusive interview during Riviera Maritime Media’s Offshore Support Journal Subsea Conference, in London, UK, in February 2024.

Decommissioning represents a US$7Bn global market in 2024, with around 50% of this spending focused in the North Sea, she explained.

There are emerging hotspots in Australia, US Gulf of Mexico, South America, southeast Asia and west Africa, which will raise spending to become a US$9Bn market by 2034.