Australian law firm Johnson Winter Slattery (JWS) has released a paper on some of the legal issues surrounding what it calls the 'rising regulatory scrutiny' on offshore petroleum assets.
It has been estimated that around 5.7 million tonnes of decommissioning material will need to be removed from Australian waters over the next 30-40 years at a cost of around US$60bn.
The document — entitled ‘Navigating the Waters of Decommissioning: Legal Obligations and the Rising Regulatory Scrutiny on Offshore Petroleum Assets’, by Rebecca Cifelli, a Partner at JWS — highlights key steps and processes facing operators and contractors in this fluid environment.
“Decommissioning forms part of the offshore petroleum lifecycle,” the paper notes. “Obligations to remove or appropriately deal with property arise for titleholders, not just at final cessation of operations, but throughout the operation phase as assets within an operating field reach the end of their useful life.”
As the Australian oil and gas industry matures, a number of fields are reaching end of life. Accordingly, the paper notes, decommissioning liabilities are coming into “sharper focus” for both industry and regulators.
“Regulators are increasingly concerned that titleholders meet their obligations during the operations phase by proactively decommissioning throughout the life of the project and planning for decommissioning as early as possible,” it notes.
This is reflected in The National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority’s (NOPSEMA) information paper, ‘Planning for proactive decommissioning’ and its ‘Decommissioning Compliance Strategy 2024-2029’.
NOPSEMA sets out its expectations that titleholders engage in planning for decommissioning from the inception of a project and detail this planning in environment plans (EPs) submitted under the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (Cth) (OPGGSA).
The JWS paper goes on to other key areas of interest such as decommissioning obligations in Commonwealth waters and the timing for removal of physical infrastructure and assets.
NOPSEMA’s ‘base case’ for all offshore operations is the full removal of all property unless an alternative arrangement is accepted, it adds.
In terms of timelines, Section 270 (OPGGSA) requires decommissioning to be completed on a title before it is relinquished. However, the OPGGSA does not otherwise stipulate any timeframes for the completion of decommissioning obligations.
The Australian Government and NOPSEMA have interpreted section 572 as requiring timely decommissioning. In the absence of any express timeframes in the legislation, NOPSEMA’s ‘Decommissioning Compliance Strategy’ 2024-2029 sets the following targets:
Non-producing wells: to be suspended with downhole barriers within 12 months of loss of real-time monitoring and permanently abandoned within 10 years of suspension.
Floating infrastructure: to be removed within 12 months of cessation of production (COP).
All wells: to be plugged and abandoned within three years of COP.
All other property: to be decommissioned to approved end state within five years of COP.
“While these are targets only, our experience indicates that NOPSEMA will apply them to its assessment of EPs and will need to be satisfied that departures from the targets are justified,” the JWS paper adds.
The vast majority of decommissioning liabilities are located off Western Australia and will therefore fall within the jurisdiction of either NOPSEMA or the WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS).
Victoria is the only other State that has significant property to be decommissioned in its coastal waters.
In the second half of 2024, the Victorian Government launched an inquiry into offshore petroleum infrastructure requiring decommissioning over the coming decades and the regulatory powers of the Victorian Government to ensure oil and gas producers meet their obligations.
The JWS paper also explores areas such as permissioning documents and early planning, as well as remedial directions and trailing liability.
Bermuda-headquartered BW Energy has announced final investment decision (FID) for the US$107mn Golfinho Boost project, which aims to increase uptime, reduce operating expenses and add around 3,000 bpd of incremental oil production from 2027 at the Golfinho field, offshore Brazil.
The project includes a number of measures aimed at boosting production efficiency and increasing recoverable reserves by approximately 12mn barrels. They include upgrades to the subsea boosting system by replacing gas lift with Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESPs) at the seabed, reopening of shut-in wells, umbilicals replacement, improved field logistics and FPSO capacity enhancements.
This follows the extension of BW Energy’s Golfinho licence by Brazilian oil and gas regulator ANP. The production phase under the Golfinho concession contract has been extended to 2042 from 2031 previously, following ANP’s approval of the company’s field development plan in November 2024.
“BW Energy continues to strengthen its position in Brazil through targeted measures on the Golfinho field to increase production, uptime and operational independence. The planned low-risk enhancements to field assets and operations offer very attractive returns and are expected to help unlock material long-term value creation for the company and its stakeholders,” said Carl K. Arnet, CEO of BW Energy.
The Golfinho field, which has been producing since 2007, is in the Espírito Santo Basin with water depths between 800 and 1,700 metres. BW Energy is the operator with 100% working interest in the Golfinho licence following the August 2023 acquisition of the Golfinho and Camarupim Clusters. Hydrocarbons are produced to the FPSO Cidade de Vitória, which BW Energy acquired and has operated since November 2023.
Removing abandoned offshore platforms are a major hassle, but converting these ageing infrastructure into reefs are an efficient and eco-friendly way to tackle this issue.
In the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region alone, there are more than 2,500 platforms that are awaiting decommissioning in the coming decade. Removing these huge structures not only take time, but is also likely to disrupt marine life. The rigs-to-reefs movement was introduced as a potential solution, with several countries in the APAC region including Thailand and Malaysia implementing these programmes successfully.
These platforms boost biodiversity by offering shelter, breeding grounds and feeding areas for marine organisms like fish, corals and invertebrates, with their metal frames in particular, being a key habitat to numerous marine communities.
Despite its advantages however, reefing does not come without risks. For example, several questions have been raised about the impact of these structures on natural marine patterns, migratory species and surrounding habitats. Moreover, regulators are often hesitant about adopting reefing programmes due to concerns surrounding long-term liability and public trust.
In order to tackle these issues, environmental agencies have there began monitoring these artificial reefs to keep a check on marine health. On the whole, reefing has received mixed reactions. While some have called this as a ‘creative problem-solving’ initiative, others have accused the oil and gas industry of using the technique as a way of stepping aside from taking environmental responsibility.
As reported by Earth.org, this approach however has a promising future, as it balances financial realities with sustainability.
Aker BP has renewed its alliance with SLB and Stimwell Services to boost oil output, extending the well intervention and stimulation alliance by five years.
In 2019, Aker BP, SLB, and Stimwell Services entered into a five-plus-five-year tripartite agreement to form the well intervention and stimulation alliance, aiming to accelerate and enhance oil production. On April 2, 2025, the three companies renewed this alliance, signing a new agreement at Aker BP’s headquarters in Fornebu, with all CEOs present at the ceremony.
The alliance has helped Aker BP meet production goals across its operated assets through close collaboration, digital innovation, and the use of advanced technologies. It has unlocked several industry milestones, including simultaneous operations using jack-up rigs, a reduction in locked-in barrels, and what Aker BP calls the world’s first autonomous intervention operation.
Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Aker BP, commented, “Strategic partnerships are essential to shaping the future of our industry. At Aker BP, we remain committed to the alliance model, which creates value through long-term collaboration. It enables us to increase productivity, maintain world-class performance, and deliver oil and gas with low cost and low emissions. This is how we position ourselves as the E&P company of the future.”
According to Aker BP, digital workflows now handle planning and execution, resulting in improved productivity, reduced risks, and higher success rates. The alliance will maintain its focus on transforming offshore well intervention and stimulation over the next five years, with plans to deepen the integration between subsurface and operational teams, expand remote operations through Aker BP’s Integrated Operations Centre, and fast-track the adoption of new technologies.
Sami Haidar, Managing Director at StimWell Services, emphasised, “Stimulation has been critical in unlocking and increasing the recovery from tight reservoirs such as Valhall. During the last five years, the alliance working together managed to successfully develop very tight areas of the field, by using innovative technology which significantly reduced the execution time, and CO2 footprint and making it economic.”
The alliance is also expected to play a significant role in bringing wells online in Aker BP’s ongoing field development projects. A newly upgraded stimulation vessel will be deployed to optimise output from the new Valhall PWP wells, contributing meaningfully to the company’s future production.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region that comprises the Arab countries will be welcoming a large class vessel by Gulf Marine Services (GMS), a provider of self-propelled, self-elevating support vessels to the offshore energy industry.
This is yet another contract for GMS that will be valid for a total of 142 days, whereby the vessel will be supporting critical offshore operations in the region.
The high market demand for offshore vessels has showered the company with its fourth contract win or extension this year.
"We are thrilled to secure this contract which once again reflects the confidence our clients place in GMS to deliver reliable solutions for their projects," said Mansour Al Alami, GMS Executive Chairman.
This follows GMS' last contract win in March for an additional vessel in the Middle East by a major regional client. It spanned an initial term including extensions of seven months.
This additional vessel, sourced to meet the demands of this project, will support a range of offshore operations, leveraging its advanced capabilities to deliver tailored solutions for various projects in the region.
"This award underscores GMS’s ability to source and provide customised solutions to our clients and demonstrates our flexibility in meeting current as well as future demand," Al Alami had said.
To know more about the offshore well intervention scene in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, click here.
Oilenco Ltd has announced the appointment of Paul Vettese as its new Business Manager for the Asia Pacific region.
Paul brings over 25 years of oil and gas experience to the role, including a decade spent leading sales teams for a global well intervention services provider in Asia Pacific. His extensive background makes him well-positioned to support Oilenco’s strategic growth and regional development plans.
Oilenco designs, engineers, and manufactures specialised downhole tooling to support oil and gas operations worldwide. Its comprehensive portfolio of well intervention solutions is designed to help operators reduce operational time and costs. The company’s innovative solutions are used globally across various offshore assets to enhance well access, intervention, and recovery operations.
In his role, Vettese will lead the development and execution of Oilenco’s business strategy across Asia Pacific. He will oversee the company’s regional direction and growth initiatives, drive new business opportunities, and strengthen relationships with existing clients throughout the region.
Blair McCombie, Operations Director, remarked, "The company is entering an exciting phase of growth, with clear ambitions to expand internationally. With Paul joining the team, we look forward to strengthening our presence across Asia Pacific and expanding our global footprint."
“Having spent the past decade leading sales across the Asia Pacific region, I’ve developed a deep understanding of the market dynamics, client expectations, and the technical challenges operators face. I’m excited to bring that regional insight and network to Oilenco, and to play a key role in expanding the company’s footprint by aligning our innovative solutions with the specific needs of customers throughout Asia Pacific,” added Paul.
Decommissioning activities have been limited in southeast Asia, with only a handful of countries being able to point to any decommissioning work in the last 20 years and the challenge has become tougher due to three key issues.
There is a general inconsistency regarding the approach to international conventions relevant of the decommissioning of offshore installations. International treaties do not have a force of law in every signitory country and the approach taken is inconsistent across the region. Domestically, the decommissioning requirements for southeast Asian nations may vary, depending on various factors. For example, in Indonesia, the implementation of Oil and Gas Law No 22 of 2001 meant that every production sharing agreement (PSC) must contain provisions with respect to post-operation obligations. Another example is Thailand, where the PSC contractor is expected to provide a security deposit, the value of which is approved by the Director General.
In each case, identifying the entity with liability for decommissioning is not a necessity. New legislation with respect to decommissioning may have an impact on the older concession agreements, PSCs or risk service agreements, subject to the terms of each relevant agreement, and whether the legislation has retrospective effect. In practice, they often lack clarity. There are a many such development agreements or arrangements between States or NOCs and oil and gas companies. However, there is no standard form of agreement; these are usually bespoke agreements, subject to different rules and covering different activities. Unless they are clear on decommissioning liabilities at the end of the JDA term, they would likely give rise to additional difficulties.
Since southeast Asia's oil & gas industry is immature when compared to other areas, there arise certain challenges that may not be the case in other areas. A lack of experience is often related to a lack of understanding of the decommissioning cost. Despite an operator or contractor contributing to a decommissioning fund, it is unlikely that the fund would be adequate.
The global well intervention market is projected to grow significantly over the next decade, as operators prioritise optimising output from existing oil and gas wells.
These services, which include everything from maintenance and repairs to production enhancement, play a vital role in extending the operational life of both onshore and offshore wells while reducing downtime.
Well intervention activities generally fall into two categories: light well intervention (LWI) and heavy well intervention (HWI). LWI includes smaller, cost-efficient operations such as wellbore cleaning and monitoring. HWI covers more complex work such as hydraulic workovers and large-scale repairs, often requiring advanced tools and specialised equipment.
This demand is largely being driven by a combination of factors. Global energy consumption continues to rise, encouraging more efficient use of existing resources. Many oil fields are reaching maturity, requiring targeted intervention services to extract remaining reserves. At the same time, technological advances—particularly in digitalisation, robotics, and remote monitoring—are making well interventions more effective and cost-efficient.
According to SkyQuest Technology, the market was valued at US$9.6bn in 2024 and is expected to reach US$14.73bn by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.5%. Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques and the integration of new technologies will remain key drivers in this expansion.
Regionally, North America dominates the market, led by the United States and Canada, due to a high number of mature fields and strong investment in unconventional oil and gas. Europe is seeing increased activity in the North Sea, while the Middle East and Africa continue to invest in aging infrastructure. Asia-Pacific is emerging as a growth hotspot, with countries like China and India increasing exploration and production efforts.
Several trends are shaping the market. The push into deepwater and offshore fields is generating demand for sophisticated intervention services. Automation and robotics are reducing reliance on manual labour and improving precision. EOR strategies are gaining ground, especially in mature fields. And growing environmental scrutiny is encouraging operators to seek cleaner and more sustainable methods of intervention.
The sector remains highly competitive. Global players like Schlumberger, Halliburton, Weatherford, Baker Hughes, and NOV lead the market, offering advanced services tailored to both complex offshore operations and routine onshore interventions. However, high operational costs, regulatory pressures, and geopolitical risks remain persistent challenges.
Despite these headwinds, the long-term outlook for the well intervention market is positive. As more companies look to extend the life of their assets and operate more sustainably, well intervention services will become an increasingly essential component of global oil and gas strategies.
Hanwha Drilling's new deepwater drillship under Hanwha Ocean's banner is now known as the Tidal Action, following its naming ceremony in South Korea.
Designed to reach drilling depths of up to 12,000 m in waters running 3,600 m deep, the Tidal Action is gearing up to serve Constellation Oil Services and Petrobras offshore Brazil, where drilling operations are set to start before the year ends. The dynamically positioned vessel can support 20,000-psi blowout preventers (BOPs). It is equipped with DP3-certified thrusters, generous deck space, and load capacities, along with dual derricks to support heavy drilling activity and efficiency.
Considering its "history of operational performance, quality people and excellent relationships with its customers", Hanwha Drilling has partnerered with Constellation who will be managing the Tidal Action drillship for Petrobras. Hanwha Drilling acknowledges the contract as a milestone for the company and an ideal fit for Tidal Action, given the scope of work and timing.
Besides Tidal Action, the Laguna Star drillship which belongs to Constellation's fleet will also be deployed for Petrobras. Ready for operation following necessary adjustments and inspection, the Laguna Star vessel will be capable of drilling in water depths of up to 10,000 feet, with a drilling depth capacity of up to 40,000 feet.
The 2012-built sixth-generation Laguna Star ultra-deepwater DP drillship was constructed at Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea.
To know more about the well lifecycle scene in Latin America, click here.
The Sparta deepwater development in the United States will be spearheaded by Subsea7 as the project's operator Shell Offshore Inc onboarded the subsea engineering and construction company for a sizeable contract, ranging somewhere between US$50-150mn.
The contract mandates Subsea7 to oversee the transportation and installation of a floating production system (FPS) at Garden Banks block 959, which is located off the southeastern coast of Louisiana at water depths of up to 1,635 metres. The company's team have initiated project management and engineering activities from its office in Houston, Texas, aiming to start offshore operations in 2027.
Craig Broussard, Senior Vice President for Subsea7 Gulf of Mexico, said, “We are proud to continue our collaboration with Shell in the US, building on past projects, including the recent Vito development. We look forward to playing a key role in the successful delivery of the Sparta project.”
Partners involved in the Sparta project has conducted studies to find an estimated, discovered recoverable resource volume of 244 mn barrel of oil equivalent (boe), and is aiming to extract as much as 90,000 boepd. It is Shell’s 15th deep-water host in the Gulf of Mexico. Speaking of the project, the company's Integrated Gas & Upstream Director, Zoe Yujnovich said it "demonstrates the power of replication, driving greater value from our advantaged positions”. It is “aligned with our commitment to pursue the most energy-efficient and competitive projects while supplying safe, secure energy supplies today and for decades to come”.
To know more about Offshore Network's global well lifecycle conferences, click here.
Nigeria is increasingly looking towards developing its brownfield assets to boost production.
This can be achieved with the right technological interventions, giving way to enhanced oil recovery that can substantially meet the region's refining capacity. Compared to greenfield projects that require considerable investments from scratch, brownfield developments cuts down on carbon footprints, thus allowing operators to meet their sustainability requirements. Ideal technological interventions comprise a package offering e-line, slick line, coiled tubing services, well remediation, well control, and idle well management services. Well intervention operations can range from well conversion, casing run operation on a wild cat well, slot recovery, installation of emergency casing head housing slip, well work-over, and drilling and completion, to name a few.
To facilitate more brownfield developments, the Nigerian administration is working to increase collaboration between the local communities, government and the private sector.
Recently, Nigeria-based offshore construction company called Intrepid Energy Limited joined hands with United Kingdom's Aquaterra Energy to deliver a bespoke subsea well intervention equipment package for a project in Nigeria.
“Working with Aquaterra Energy marks a significant step forward for our intervention operations in Nigeria. Their specialised technology enhances our ability to execute intervention programmes efficiently, maximising performance across our assets. By combining Aquaterra’s technical expertise with our deep understanding of the local operating environment, we’re confident this collaboration will enhance production outcomes and create lasting value for our operations in the region,” said Seun Alonge, CEO at Intrepid Energy Limited.
To know more about the well intervention scene in West Africa, click here.
Global Underwater Hub (GUH) and Subsea Innovation Cluster Australia (SICA) have signed an MoU to collaborate over the development of the subsea sector in both hemispheres.
Under the agreement, the organisations will actively promote opportunities for their subsea supply chains in both countries and share market intelligence and learnings around diversification strategies for the energy transition and defence operation.
GUH Chief Executive, Neil Gordon, said, “Australia has a broad conventional energy mix with strong ambitions towards net zero […] crucially, and similar to the UK, Australia champions a just transition which builds in energy resiliency and security with opportunities in sustained oil and gas production, decommissioning and carbon capture.”
Gordon also highlighted the continued production within the oil and gas industry within Australia where there are opportunities within new developments as well as in the expansion oil current production by leading operators including Woodside and Santos.
He added, “Decommissioning is a significant opportunity in Australia where the inventory of subsea assets requiring to be decommissioned includes over 1,500 wells and structures and 4,500km of pipelines with major opportunities for specialist plugging, cutting, inspection and recovery technologies.”
SICA Cluster Manager, Colin McIvor, commented, “This MoU marks an important step in strengthening collaboration between Australia and the UK’s subsea sectors. By working with GHU, we’re opening new opportunities for innovation, knowledge sharing, and international market access for SICA members. Both organisations bring unique strengths: SICA’s agility and cross-sector innovation focus and GUH’s depth of experience and established global networks. By sharing these, we can deliver real impact for established and emerging industries and accelerate significant growth for both countries.”
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