Although a number of international treaties govern the disposal of waste at sea, including the management of decommissioned offshore structures, there are no international regulations or guidelines, relating specifically to the decommissioning of pipelines. At present, pipeline decommissioning is covered within national legislation.
In the UK, the Petroleum Act 1998 [Ref 3] outlines the requirements for owners of installations and pipelines
to obtain approval for their decommissioning programme from the Secretary of State. The decommissioning programme should contain details of cost and proposals for removal and disposal. It must be supported by an EIA and is submitted to the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
Pipelines should be the subject of a separate decommissioning programme unless they are located within the same field as other equipment or installations to be decommissioned at the same time.
In addition to the approval of the decommissioning programme for a pipeline, the following may also be required:
• Confirmation that the requirements of the Coast Protection Act 1949 Section 34 Part II have been satisfied
• Fulfilment of notification requirements for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under regulation 22 of the Pipeline Safety Regulations 1996 [Ref 7]
• Any environmental consents or permits required during decommissioning activity
• Disposal of materials on shore must comply with relevant health and safety, pollution prevention and waste requirements/permits
If part or the entire pipeline is to be removed or the decommissioning programme would result in a change to
any part of the Table A information in the original Pipeline Works Authorisation (PWA) then a PWA Variation would also be required.
If the approved decommissioning programme for a pipeline contains proposals for the placement of associated materials on the seabed such as rock dump, then a licence must be obtained under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 [Ref 4] in England and Wales or the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010.
In Norway, pipelines and cables are not specifically referred to in Chapter 5 Decommissioning, of the Petroleum Act 1996. They are, however, covered by a separate White Paper 47 (1999–2000), ‘Disposal of Pipelines and Cables on the Norwegian Continental Shelf’.
Notification of Disused Pipelines
In the UK, the owner of a pipeline must notify the DECC when a pipeline reaches the end of its operational life. Under certain circumstances, this may be before other facilities in the same field. In such cases the DECC may consider the deferral of decommissioning for the pipeline until the end of the whole field life.
Some pipelines may represent important UKCS infrastructure and provide the means for future development of hydrocarbons reserves, or storage of carbon dioxide or gas in the basin. To allow for the future reuse, the decommissioning of such pipelines may also be deferred.
The deferral of pipeline decommissioning to the end of field life or for possible reuse is carried out under the ‘Interim Pipeline Regime’ (IPR). The DECC will send the pipeline owner a Disused Pipeline Notification form requesting details on the status of the pipeline. The DECC will consult with other government departments and then issue a letter outlining the conditions under which it is prepared to defer decommissioning to a specified date. If reuse of the pipeline is considered viable, then suitable and sufficient maintenance of the pipeline is required of the owner.
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