The over 4,500 idle wells and 783 idle structures in the U.S. federal waters of the Outer Continental Shelfrnat the beginning of 2011 were increasing the risk of contamination to the environment as these assets aged,rnwhile at the same time the cost to decommission these assets was on the rise. During the hurricane seasonsrnof 2005 and 2008 over 175 structures and 1,000 wells were damaged or toppled to the sea floor by windrnand storm surge that further exposed the risk, increased the cost of decommissioning and madernunderwriting the repair or replacement of these assets no longer affordable to many operators.rnRenewed pressure on operators to decommission idle infrastructure sooner rather than later wasrnbrought forth by the issuance of new guidelines by regulators in the form of a Notice to Lessee. These newrnguidelines now require operators to decommission idle wells and supporting structures as soon as possible,rnbut no later than 5 years after they become no longer useful for producing oil and gas in paying quantities.rnWith the cost of decommissioning and regulatory pressure increasing, many operators began seekingrnnew and better decommissioning methods that could get more work done, safely and at a lower cost.rnEmploying the newest technologies, a new, optimized decommissioning methodology was made possible.rnThe size and capabilities of a newly designed and constructed 335 class self-elevating, self-propelled,rnmarine vessel (liftboat) allowed a departure from the traditional method of performing decommissioningrnwork-steps sequentially, one-after-the-other, to a new method of performing the majority of work-stepsrnconcurrently in just one spread mobilization.rnThe new concurrent model was utilized over a 30-month period and demonstrated that not only did thernnew liftboat perform as proposed, use of the new model resulted in a 140% more wells and structuresrnbeing removed over the number expected to have been removed using traditional methods. The actualrnspend to execute the total work scope was reduced by one-third (33%) and, most importantly, the excellentrnsafety performance achieved by the single, consistent team of specialty workers was recognized with thernpresentation of the 2013 Safety-in-Seas Award by the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA).
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