A report commissioned by GMB Scotland has revealed that the UK taxpayer could be liable for a significant share of the North Sea’s decommissioning costs over the next forty years.
Latest estimates associated with fields across the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) mean an increasing financial burden will be placed on the Treasury in the form of tax refunds to oil and gas companies, potentially as much as 75 per cent of the out-turn costs. Average costs for North Sea decommissioning expenditure are growing by 14 per cent a year, with the final cost of decommissioning now expected to be in excess of £100 billion.
The report’s authors, CRF Consultants, propose that urgent focus should be placed in three key areas – life of field extension, decommissioning execution and job retention - and have identified where Scotland could realise significant value and compete against more established foreign competitors.