Patenting For The Decommissioning Market

Owners of oil and gas installations and pipelines are required to decommission their offshore and onshore infrastructure at the end of a field's economic life. Regulations are in place around the world to ensure decommissioning is executed in a safe and environmentally sound manner. Some estimates have indicated the United Kingdom Continental Shelf will have 1,616 wells decommissioned between 2020 and 2029. With mature fields located around the world, decommissioning may be set to be big business. However, the aforementioned safety and regulatory requirements often require overcoming technical challenges. The manner in which innovations stemming from addressing these challenges are managed form part of the commercial considerations of businesses operating in or looking to enter the decommissioning sector.