Well Decommissioning Expanding Horizons for Innovators with Proven Experience

Portfolio economics, regulatory requirements and ageing infrastructure will continue to drive well decommissioning activity for years to come. According to Offshore Energies UK, well decommissioning is forecast to account for 47% of overall decommissioning expenditure between 2025 and 2034, and the UK Continental Shelf’s cumulative cost estimate has increased by £1 billion since 2023 and is expected to reach £12 billion by 2032 .

However, the scale of this activity highlights a wider point. Well decommissioning is about far more than fulfilling regulatory requirements or deploying established technologies.

Crucially, the next phase of activity represents a new arena for engineering and logistics. Delivering safe and efficient P&A programmes requires technical precision, operational experience and sustained investment — all underpinned by rigorous safety standards.

Scenario Planning

Growth in well decommissioning is being driven primarily by mature basins, led by the North Sea but also including the Gulf of Mexico and parts of Asia-Pacific.

Many wells in these regions were drilled several decades ago. Over time, numerous assets have been granted lifetime extensions beyond their original design parameters, introducing additional complexity when planning well decommissioning programmes.

Downhole unknowns, historic well data gaps, legacy completion designs and varying levels of degradation can all create challenges when preparing wells for plug and abandonment and verifying permanent well barriers.

But well decommissioning is not limited to ageing infrastructure alone. Increasingly, wells are also being retired where production is no longer economically viable, where field redevelopment offers greater long-term value, or where regulatory and policy considerations influence operational decisions.

Each scenario introduces technical challenges, from understanding historic well design and casing configurations to ensuring permanent barriers meet modern standards.

Operators and contractors must therefore navigate a range of considerations including safety, structural integrity, project complexity, financial and personnel constraints, emissions targets and evolving timelines.

At the same time, emerging technologies are playing an important role in helping the industry address these challenges. Field redevelopments, extended asset lifetimes and low-carbon initiatives such as carbon capture and storage all depend on safe, verified well barrier solutions.

Meanwhile, contracting models are increasingly shifting toward integrated approaches, with operators often adopting EPC-style frameworks for end-of-life projects. This trend further emphasises the importance of technical expertise and close collaboration between operators, contractors and specialist service providers.

Keys to Success

Successful well decommissioning programmes depend on the right combination of tools, teams and operational mindset.

Downhole technologies and well services play a central role in delivering safe, verifiable plug and abandonment operations and establishing permanent well barriers to protect long-term well integrity. Achieving this often requires safely accessing and intervening in wells that may have been drilled decades ago and modified over time.

Well intervention techniques including tubing and casing recovery tools, mills and section milling system, jetting systems and well bore cleanouts tool including hands-free tubular running services can play an important role in enabling wellbore clean-up, barrier placement and the preparation required to verify permanent well barriers.

These technical capabilities must be complemented by flexible operational delivery models. Rigless solutions, for example, enable operators to reduce costs, enhance efficiency, and minimise operational emissions—while still maintaining the highest safety standards. Likewise, an integrated operations model is a key enabler for cost reduction through headcount optimisation, such as deploying a multiskilled drill crew for P&A operations

Leveraging in-house capabilities across engineering, equipment and service delivery can further strengthen performance by improving tool availability, reducing lead times and supporting more efficient project execution.

Ultimately, however, successful well decommissioning depends as much on people and mindset as it does on technology.

A collaborative partnership approach, working closely with operators to understand the specific requirements of each well, remains essential to delivering technically robust, cost-efficient P&A programmes.

Investing in Solutions

The continued growth of well decommissioning activity is already driving investment in infrastructure, specialist tooling and operational capability across the supply chain.

Companies across the sector are expanding facilities and strengthening technical expertise to support increasing demand for plug and abandonment, fishing, remedial services and barrier verification work.

For example, Odfjell Technology has recently invested in a new workshop near Aberdeen, designed to support fishing, remedial and P&A operations. Located in Portlethen, the facility provides modern, purpose-built infrastructure that improves accessibility, strengthens operational capacity and supports closer collaboration between contractors and project partners involved in well decommissioning campaigns.

Odfjell Technology has further accelerated its growth journey with the acquisition of McGarian TDC and recent majority stake in Kaseum Holdings and Razor Oil Tools. This has significantly expanded its development capacity and enhanced its ability to engineer new tools, refine intervention methodologies and deliver fully integrated P&A campaigns tailored to modern well challenges.

Odfjell Technology has further accelerated its growth journey with the acquisition of McGarian TDC and recent majority stake in Kaseum Holdings and Razor Oil Tools. This has significantly expanded its development capacity and enhanced its ability to engineer new tools, refine intervention methodologies and deliver fully integrated P&A campaigns tailored to modern well challenges.

Lifecycle Skills

From plug and abandonment to advanced well intervention and repurposing technologies, the next chapter for existing wells presents both challenges and opportunities for companies capable of delivering safe, cost-efficient and low-carbon solutions.

Preparing for the future of the oil and gas industry increasingly means focusing on the opportunities created by the sector’s ongoing evolution. Well decommissioning should therefore be viewed not simply as the closure of ageing wells, but as a specialised discipline centred on safe P&A operations and long-term well integrity.

Success depends on combining the right equipment with the right expertise and experience. By working in close collaboration with operators and the wider supply chain, specialist service providers can help deliver technically robust well decommissioning solutions across both mature and emerging markets.

In doing so, the skills and experience developed through well decommissioning will continue to support the wider industry, enabling operators and service companies to safely manage late-life wells while establishing the permanent barriers required for the decades ahead.

As mature basins continue to evolve, well decommissioning will play an increasingly central role in ensuring the industry manages its existing wells safely, responsibly and with the highest technical standards.