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Australia’s decommissioning portfolio is forecasted to increase substantially over the next 50 years amounting to US40. 5 billion nationally, with 90% of decommissioning by 2060. High costs, the complexity of our infrastructure geography, ensuring circular economy and carbon efficient principles, will be challenges the industry will need to collaborate through. But Australia has a skilled workforce, a strong sustainability commitment, a mindset of partnership and collaboration as well as a tradition for innovation. These strategic advantages will enable the establishment of new industries early to be a regional player in decommissioning. As the assets are decommissioned offshore, travel to the beach, transported to identified waste providers and go through final end-of-life cycle management including recycling and repurposing, strategic linkages of the value chain will be key for a successful decommissioning industry set up. Understanding the oil and gas (O&G) decommissioning industry’s needs, opportunities and challenges early will strategically enable Australia to pave the way for building decommissioning expertise, critical infrastructure, and sustainable practices. This includes understanding where ports should intersect with waste storage, processing, recycling and disposal capabilities, as we have an opportunity to think differently about turning waste into new resources. And most importantly, how do we ensure availability of a skilled workforce in an already resource-crunched market? As we analyse the port to disposal value chain, it is important to overlay the carbon footprint, regulation, and socio-economic lenses on the journey to support the industry and to ensure long-term viability to minimise conflict with other competing industries or activities.
Wild et al. (Thu,) studied this question.