Offshore Industry: North Sea
(asked on 25th February 2025) - View Source
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the total cost of decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure in the UK sector of the North Sea; and how this compares to previous estimates published by the North Sea Transition Authority.
Answered by
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), an arm’s length body of the Department, is responsible for benchmarking and reviewing the total cost of decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure in the UK’s sector of the North Sea.
The NSTA estimates the cost of decommissioning the remaining oil and gas infrastructure is approximately £40 billion, with £20 billion of that spend forecast in the next decade, in constant with 2021 prices.
The NSTA publishes estimates for the upstream oil and gas industry’s annual expenditure on decommissioning by calendar year up to 2023 which is available on its website.