| Abstract | Offshore oil and gas platforms and related structures are required to be decommissioned at
the end of their useful lives. There has been much debate in the last few years about the
impact of decommissioning process on the environment, on the health & safety of workers,
the costs involved and the technology required. The industry needs to develop solutions
that balance these factors for the overall benefit of the environment and society.
Many of the existing offshore oil and gas platforms and related structures in the Gulf of
Thailand will reach the end of their useful lives and will be required to be decommissioned
in the near future. In Thailand, offshore oil and gas platform decommissioning is perceived
as new issue that is urgently needed to establish clear policies and to support these policies
with a defined process and appropriate regulations and control.
The local NGOs in Thailand are now a strong force that has often stalled government or
private-sector attempts to launch large projects with doubtful environmental impact. In the
international level, the role and impact of the NGOs related to the offshore oil and gas
platform decommissioning have been recognized since the Brent Spar disputes. Therefore,
the opinions, requirements and required level of involvement of the NGOs and other
related stakeholders should be taken into account to avoid any conflicts in
decommissioning projects.
This study was undertook to determine the NGOs and academics who are interested in
decommissioning issue, and the fisheries group who may be affected from
decommissioning projects in order to understand their needs and required level of
involvement to be incorporated into the development of decommissioning policies and
process in the early stage, which will be able to help to more fully define the
environmental criteria that will provide guidance for technology selection and operation's
processes with minimal potential conflicts. Multiple stakeholders provide multiple
perspectives, leading to the development of a comprehensive understanding of the
problem. The various decommissioning issues, namely financial, legal, policy, process,
environmental and technical issues were discussed and the stakeholders of interest
addressed their concerns in the form of opinions towards each issue through the interviews.
They were also interviewed for their requirements and required level of involvement in
each decommissioning process consisting of Planning, Review and Approval, Execution,
Closeout, and Ongoing Monitoring. Besides, the other general issues directly and indirectly
relating to decommissioning were addressed by those stakeholders. According the findings,
some issues, e.g. responsible party for decommissioning cost, decommissioning options
and techniques were likely to cause conflict. These inputs are of significance in the
formulation of comprehensive decommissioning policy, amendment of related laws and
regulations, decision-making process, the development of decommissioning guidelines,
and the selection of removal option and decommissioning alternative, with minimal
conflict. |
