Standard Bulletin: Offshore Special Edition, July 2015

Decommissioning potential in the North Sea
The North Sea is home to a dispersed mass of steel and concrete. Under the provisions of the OSPAR Convention, field operators are obliged to decomission and clean all this up one day, and that day may be approaching. Stephen Gordon, Managing Director at Clarksons Research, looks at the potential upside to our Offshore members. 

Decommissioning and removal – technical challenges
LOC Group has extensive decommissioning experience and has worked on some of the largest and most challenging removal projects in the North Sea, including the Frigg Cessation Project, which straddled the UK and Norwegian sectors. Alan Clifton, Managing Director of LOC Norway and a senior construction engineer, gives guidance on the decommissioning and removal process. 

Cross-border movement of waste: don’t let waste laws catch you off guard
Nick Rock, a Partner in the Energy & Natural Resources group of Reed Smith LLP in London, is experienced, among other matters, in environmental impact assessment, offshore pollution and transboundary movement of waste. He gives guidance below in this tricky field. 

Ageing offshore infrastructure: insuring decommissioning risks
In the next 30 years in the North Sea alone, more than 475 platforms, 10,000km of pipelines and 5,000 wells are expected to be decommissioned at an anticipated cost of over £40bn. How will risk in the decommissioning process be managed? Do standard market wordings provide sufficient coverage or is a bespoke solution required? Simon Jackson, a Partner at Clyde & Co LLP in London specialising in Marine, Energy and P&I risks, gives guidance on decommissioning exposures and the insurance solutions available.

P&I cover for decommissioning
It is essential to preserve the distinction between the field operator’s obligation to leave a clean field and the insurance cover available for the liabilities arising out of the decommissioning activities themselves. The former obligation ought not to be transferable by contract or otherwise as a P&I liability. John Croucher, underwriting director and Sian Dinnadge, deputy underwriter in the Offshore Syndicate, look at the scope of P&I cover available to members involved in decommissioning projects. 

The Standard Syndicate – spotlight on Ollie Paine, Energy Class Underwriter
This article introduces Ollie Paine, Energy Class Underwriter at The Standard Syndicate, who is in charge of writing physical damage, operator’s extra expense/control of well and construction coverage for marine energy businesses covering mobile and fixed platforms and associated onshore facilities.