Planning for complex decommissioning projects in Australia – Gippsland Basin case study

Over more than 50 years, safe and successful installation projects have enabled progressive development and expansion of the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture off the coast of Victoria, Australia. This has resulted in a highly integrated network of 19 offshore platforms which are now starting to progressively reach the end of their productive life and detailed planning for the first phase of decommissioning projects has increased in intensity. Decommissioning of these assets is planned to take place in a number of campaigns. The Campaign 1 Decommissioning Project includes the removal of up to 13 platforms and is likely to be the largest single project of its kind in the World. Experience of similar decommissioning projects in Australia is very limited, resulting in unprecedented challenges across many aspects of this project. This requires creative, innovative and adaptable solutions to be developed to enable an efficient execution methodology. This paper will explore the strategies, challenges and successes involved with the early planning and development phase of the Gippsland Basin Joint Venture, Campaign 1 Decommissioning Project. Key insights, from contracting, to execution planning and stakeholder engagement will be discussed, promoting sharing across the industry and improving efficiency for future decommissioning projects in Australia.