Bottom-up emissions and energy assessment for decommissioning offshore platform structures in the North Sea: Brent and Tern case studies
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Jalili, Shahin
Leontidis, Georgios
Stone, Malcolm
Neilson, Richard
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Decommissioning of offshore energy infrastructure in the North Sea presents a significant environmental challenge for operators, the supply chain, government agencies, and society. Considering the UK's 2050 net zero target, it is essential to understand the offshore oil and gas (O&G) decommissioning sector's contribution to overall emissions. Such insight is crucial for evaluating decommissioning projects and informing policy development aimed at reducing emissions and achieving net zero goals. This study proposes a bottom-up emissions and energy assessment (EEA) approach for decommissioning offshore O&G platform topside and jacket structures. The approach quantifies the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy demand associated with offshore and onshore activities during the decommissioning phase. It leverages detailed, site-specific operational data to improve the precision and reliability of these assessments and is underpinned by the latest available data from the North Sea O&G decommissioning industry. The approach is validated through application to decommissioning of platform topsides and jackets in the Brent and Tern fields. Numerical comparisons reveal acceptable differences between the energy demand and CO2 emission estimates from this study and those reported in North Sea industry reports. The study also presents insights into the reliable EEA of decommissioning projects.
Date Issued
2026-06-01
Date Acceptance
2026-02-17
Citation
Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 2026, 119
ISSN
0195-9255
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Journal / Book Title
Environmental Impact Assessment Review
Volume
119
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
108398
Date Publish Online
2026-03-02