Collaborative approach: a foundation for successful decommissioning
Nigel Lees A and Willem van Es AWood Group.
The APPEA Journal 56(2) 562-562 https://doi.org/10.1071/AJ15068
Published: 2016
Abstract
The industrial capability to decommission assets is in its formative stages, with knowledge and experience limited to a few organisations. Many see this intellectual property as a competitive advantage, underpinning an entrepreneurial approach to secure a share of the projected future spends. While success is usually measured by performance and profit, Wood Group has adopted a broader perspective. Choosing, along with others, to collaborate and actively share lessons, knowledge, and experience for the benefit of the industry and government. Any future strategy for decommissioning developed from the foundation of shared tools and guidance documents will maximise economic recovery for society.
The authors outline the journey so far, identifying the key drivers for collaboration to date, and set out a vision for the next stages. They advocate a truly collaborative approach that shares knowledge between the basins the industry operates in, thus allowing operators to maximise recovery and discharge their license obligations through a cost-effective approach to decommissioning.
Nigel Lees joined WGPSN’s UK leadership team in 2013, and has for the last two years held the position of Regional Director, Strategy and Growth. In November 2015 he was appointed to the newly created position of Decommissioning Director, where he is responsible for the strategic development and ultimate delivery of the organisations service line capability. Nigel has more than 25 years of oil and gas experience under his belt with a career that has spanned service, engineering, maintenance, decommissioning and integrity environments with further exposure to defence, nuclear and construction sectors. An electrical engineer by background, he has worked in a range of senior management positions and in 2003 was responsible for the formation and leadership of the SORT4 joint venture providing inspection, integrity and industrial services across Shell’s central and northern North Sea assets. Prior to joining Wood Group, Nigel held the position of Chief Operating Officer for Bilfinger Salamis. A respected member of the oil and gas community, Nigel is Vice Chairman of Decom North Sea and has previously served as a non-executive director for Oil and Gas UK, and participates in the OGA Decommissioning Board. He is currently the co-chair of the Oil and Gas UK Board subcommittee for decommissioning, and was previously a member of the Oil & Gas Industry Council (a forum for industry and the UK Government) where he held the role of Champion for the decommissioning element of the Oil & Gas Industrial Strategy. Nigel is a fellow of both the Institute of Directors and the Chartered Management Institute, and a member of the Energy Institute. He has a passion for learning, and following the completion of his MBA in oil and gas management at Robert Gordon University he continues to support the course as a senior associate lecturer. |
Willem van Es is a Decommissioning Manager at Wood Group. |
