Planning for complex decommissioning projects in Australia – Gippsland Basin case study
Richard Perry A *A
Richard Perry has worked for ExxonMobil for 25 years in a variety of positions leading offshore upstream oil and gas projects across the globe. From shallow water conventional installations in Malaysia, to deep water subsea developments in Nigeria, and more recently, concrete gravity structure construction and installation in the arctic waters off Newfoundland, Canada, Richard has extensive experience across all aspects of planning, contracting and execution of major projects. In 2021 Richard became the Project Manager for the Gippsland Basin JV Campaign 1 Decommissioning Project in Bass Strait. Richard is actively engaged across the Decommissioning Industry in Australia through associations such as the Industry Advisory Committee for CODA, the Industry Reference Group supporting the Northern Endeavour decommissioning as well as being a member of the decommissioning sub-committee within Australian Energy Producers. |
Abstract
Over more than 50 years, safe and successful installation projects have enabled progressive development and expansion of the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture off the coast of Victoria, Australia. This has resulted in a highly integrated network of 19 offshore platforms which are now starting to progressively reach the end of their productive life and detailed planning for the first phase of decommissioning projects has increased in intensity. Decommissioning of these assets is planned to take place in a number of campaigns. The Campaign 1 Decommissioning Project includes the removal of up to 13 platforms and is likely to be the largest single project of its kind in the World. Experience of similar decommissioning projects in Australia is very limited, resulting in unprecedented challenges across many aspects of this project. This requires creative, innovative and adaptable solutions to be developed to enable an efficient execution methodology. This paper will explore the strategies, challenges and successes involved with the early planning and development phase of the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture, Campaign 1 Decommissioning Project. Key insights, from contracting, to execution planning and stakeholder engagement will be discussed, promoting sharing across the industry and improving efficiency for future decommissioning projects in Australia.
Keywords: Australia, Bass Strait, decommissioning, ExxonMobil, Gippsland.
Richard Perry has worked for ExxonMobil for 25 years in a variety of positions leading offshore upstream oil and gas projects across the globe. From shallow water conventional installations in Malaysia, to deep water subsea developments in Nigeria, and more recently, concrete gravity structure construction and installation in the arctic waters off Newfoundland, Canada, Richard has extensive experience across all aspects of planning, contracting and execution of major projects. In 2021 Richard became the Project Manager for the Gippsland Basin JV Campaign 1 Decommissioning Project in Bass Strait. Richard is actively engaged across the Decommissioning Industry in Australia through associations such as the Industry Advisory Committee for CODA, the Industry Reference Group supporting the Northern Endeavour decommissioning as well as being a member of the decommissioning sub-committee within Australian Energy Producers. |
