(WO) — The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) and 17 operators have signed a new charter aimed at tackling the UK Continental Shelf’s growing well decommissioning backlog while reducing costs through greater industry collaboration and vessel sharing.
The initiative focuses in part on subsea wellhead removals, with operators agreeing to share data, expertise and resources and identify opportunities to jointly use vessels. Industry estimates suggest using vessels instead of rigs for final wellhead removal could reduce remaining subsea wellhead removal costs by about 30%, potentially saving roughly £200 million ($271 million).
The charter comes as UK North Sea decommissioning activity continues to increase. Operators carried out work on 257 wells in 2025, with 114 progressing to final abandonment, according to the NSTA’s latest UKCS Decommissioning Cost and Performance Update. That compares with work on 238 wells and 103 final abandonments in 2024.
Despite the increase, around 500 inactive wells are awaiting final abandonment, while more than 1,000 additional wells are expected to require decommissioning over the next five years.
“This initiative has the potential to be a win-win-win for operators, suppliers and taxpayers,” said Pauline Innes, NSTA supply chain and decommissioning director. “By collaborating, we can tackle the backlog, lower the cost of well decommissioning, protect the marine environment, and stimulate the offshore service sector.”
Under the initiative, rigs would continue to perform earlier subsea decommissioning phases, including plugging wells with cement. Operators would seek greater use of vessels for the final stage of removing wellheads from the seabed, potentially freeing rigs for other abandonment work while reducing costs, emissions and offshore time.
A new industry workgroup will develop a framework for carrying out AB3 wellhead severance activities while meeting regulatory requirements.
Overall UKCS decommissioning spending reached a record £2.6 billion ($3.5 billion) in 2025, up from £2.4 billion ($3.2 billion) in 2024, driven by increased well decommissioning and platform and infrastructure removal activity.
However, the NSTA’s estimate for the cost of remaining UKCS decommissioning declined only slightly, from £43.6 billion to £43.4 billion ($58.8 billion), reflecting factors including geopolitical instability and competition for supply-chain resources.
Charter participants include bp, Shell, Harbour Energy, EnQuest, Ithaca Energy, Serica Energy, Apache, CNOOC International, Eni, INEOS Energy Europe, Perenco and other North Sea operators.
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