Current scenario

One of the issues that we have seen quite high in the offshore market and that will continue to be discussed in the coming years is the decommissioning of assets on platforms. They have a useful life of around 15 and 25 years, depending on the type of structure, and when they reach their production limit they need to be dismantled, leaving the place where they were in their original conditions.

Currently in Brazil there are about 20 oil and gas platforms located in Bacia de Campos that are already approved to be decommissioned in the next years. This means that oil companies must dismantle various equipment found inside the platforms, keeping the people involved and the environment safe.

Challenges and Opportunities

This process is complex, bureaucratic, requires a long schedule and involves professionals from different areas. Therefore, it also requires a large investment by oil companies.

The entire procedure is carefully studied and approved, respecting rules and legislation in force. One of the biggest concerns is to manage the waste and equipment correctly, without causing any damage to the ecosystem.

Seeing the scenario from another perspective, the demand for decommissioning services will generate new jobs and heat up the offshore market in Brazil over the next few years. According to a study carried out by the Danish environmental consultancy Ramboll, and released by EXAME, this process should move around 26 billion reais by 2024.

In addition to the platforms that will be decommissioned in the Campos Basin, there are more than 60 mobile units in the Northeast that have run out of time:

1st FPSO Decommissioning carried out in Brazil

The FPSO Cidade do Rio de Janeiro was the first to be decommissioned in Brazil. AES Union had the opportunity to participate, performing services such as Tank Cleaning, Top Side Cleaning, Equipment Disassembly and NORM Management. With a multidisciplinary team and complete solutions for offshore asset management, we were able to participate in different stages of this process. 

What to expect from the market?

Therefore, we expect a promising future of new services for this market and that, with the resumption of the economy, we will also have a rise in upstream activities, promoting the oil and gas sector on a global scale.

Meanwhile, we must always seek to innovate in our solutions, being attentive to new technologies and opportunities that we can offer to the market, always aiming to find a blue ocean amid other difficulties.