Julie Copland, Head of Wells, Elemental Energies, and Iain Farrow, Elemental Archer JV Manager, answer questions regarding decommissioning oil and gas assets.
Can you outline the most significant takeaways (from your perspective) from the NSTA’s 2025 Decommissioning Cost and Performance Update?
The clearest signal from this year’s update is the pace at which decommissioning programmes are being brought forward. Operators are accelerating activity both to exit the UKCS earlier and to secure supply chain capacity before it moves elsewhere. With rigs and services in finite supply, those who delay risk losing access to critical capacity. Rig mobility is a particular pressure point, with units leaving the basin or locked into long-term campaigns in other regions.
For the UKCS, the message is clear: forward planning and coordinated scheduling are now as critical as cost control. Without early commitments, the basin risks fragmentation and rising prices. With them, we can build a predictable pipeline of work that gives operators certainty while sustaining the supply chain’s capability to deliver.
How does this year’s report reflect progress (or lack of progress) in reducing decommissioning costs across the UKCS?
The rise in cost estimates highlighted in this year’s report reflects two structural realities. Firstly, rig rates are rising in line with global demand. Many units have left the UKCS, and without early contractual commitments to bring them back, day rates remain high. Secondly, there is the issue of under-reporting. For too long, decommissioning budgets have been treated as placeholders, often optimistic in scope and lacking the contingency required for subsea complexity. When projects move to execution, costs then appear to escalate sharply. This is less about inefficiency and more about the industry being forced to face the true scale of the challenge. The pathway to cost reduction lies in better early- stage cost modelling, combined with multi-operator collaboration on shared campaigns to stabilise the rig demand necessary to re-anchor capacity in the UKCS. With these measures in place, future cost updates can begin to show true, sustainable progress.
Where are operators making the biggest efficiency gains in decommissioning projects?
The most significant gains are coming from greater integration – linking decommissioning with late-life production, supply chain partnerships and technology deployment from the outset. Aligning late-life production with Phase 0 decommissioning reduces duplication and unlocks scheduling efficiencies. We are also seeing real benefits from integrated supply chain models, including joint ventures that combine subsurface, well engineering, and well services from the start. Finally, technology deployment is delivering measurable results, particularly where innovations reduce downhole time and shorten rig utilisation – the single largest driver of cost. Together, these approaches highlight the importance of integration and early planning in achieving genuine efficiency gains.
Read the latest issue of Oilfield Technology magazine for upstream news, project stories, industry insight and technical articles.
Oilfield Technology’s November/December 2025 issue
The November/December 2025 issue of Oilfield Technology focuses on how the upstream sector is modernising to stay efficient, competitive, and lower-carbon. It explores decarbonising drilling operations, improving performance through advanced monitoring and drilling technologies, reshoring and strengthening supply chains, enhancing offshore inspections, and tightening cybersecurity. Together, the articles highlight a sector pushing towards greater efficiency, resilience, and sustainability across the full lifecycle of oilfield operations.