Offshore wind, which is outside of oil and gas, is perhaps the main area where Norwegian offshore owners have been looking for work to replace lost demand.
Inside oil and gas, another two key areas owners often mention are the decommissioning of offshore infrastructure and plug and abandonment (P&A) of wells, which are at the end of a field’s life cycle.
However, this week, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) issued a statement saying it is “sceptical of the proposal to plug wells as a measure to keep drilling rigs in activity”.
The directorate says its figures point to about 2,200 well bores under its purview on the Norwegian shelf, while about 40 to 50 wells are set to be plugged annually over the next few years.
“The NPD, as resource steward, wants the industry to use available rig capacity to drill new profitable wells and is considering re-use of existing wells to avoid declining production on existing fields. Multiple re-use methods are used to produce remaining resources; here it is important for decisions concerning potential plugging to be well-reasoned and long-term,” said the directorate.
The NPD believes oil companies should push for improved recovery in the long term.
The slump in oil prices has curbed drilling activity as oil companies cut costs, which means companies such as state-owned Statoil have sought alternative uses, such as P&A, for chartered rigs.
