The Government of Scotland allocated an additional £5 million to the supply chain in Scotland to enhance the economic benefit from the decommissioning of North Sea infrastructure.
This was announced by the Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands Paul Wheelhouse, who said that the Decommissioning Challenge Fund (DCF) will reopen for a third round of funding.
The DCF 3 will continue to support infrastructure upgrades at Scotland’s ports, innovation in retrieval and transport approaches, as well as supply chain projects that will improve Scottish decommissioning capabilities and capacities. It can also support engineering scoping work, feasibility studies and business development at key sites to help to attract further private investment.
In addition, the fund will help Scotland’s oil and gas sector make the most of decommissioning opportunities at home and abroad.
Mr. Wheelhouse mentioned:
More than £17 billion is expected to be spent in the North Sea to 2025, with the peak for decommissioning activity in this area predicted to go beyond this. Scotland’s supply chain is winning the lion’s share of project value in areas like well-plugging and abandonment, but there is room to further increase market share in areas such as the salvage and disposal of top-side infrastructure.