This document was prepared by the members of Oil & Gas UKs Decommissioning Efficient

Execution Workgroup. Particular recognition is given to the input of Ian Fozdar who led the activity.

Issue 1 - 2015 Edition

ISBN: 1 903 004 57 8

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Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

Contents
Foreword
Paragraph
1. Introduction
2. Offshore Decommissioning Workflow
2.1 Definitions of the Decommissioning Phases
3. Late-Life/Decommissioning Cost Reductions
4. Inspection and Maintenance Assessment Process
4.1 Inspection and Maintenance Framework
5. Implementing the Framework
Appendix 1
Abbreviations
Appendix 2
Worked Example Operations, Inspection & Maintenance Framework

Page
1
2
2
5
8
8
11
13
13
14
14

Table
Table 1 Hazard and Safety Critical Elements Matrix
Table 2 Operations, Inspection & Maintenance Framework

October 2015

8
10

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

1.

Introduction
Maintenance during the late-life and decommissioning phases of infrastructure
is driven by very different objectives and constraints than during the steadystate Operating phase.
Robust Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) management is now typically
in the context of reduced hydrocarbon inventories and pressures.
Production-critical maintenance typically becomes more reactive, and then
ceases.
Equipment and human-access related maintenance becomes solely driven
by the needs of decommissioning/dismantlement, which were virtually nonissues during the Operating phase.
Inspection may be designed more to understand the condition of a platform,
so that decommissioning plans can be fitted to this, and less to confirm that
some pre-determined performance standard is being met.
Overall Inspection/Maintenance man-hours and costs can be reduced, often
significantly, during decommissioning. The challenge is to avoid the threats to
safety and integrity throughout the project. The experience of Oil and Gas UK
members has produced two matrices to provide:
An enabler for managing the changing HSE hazards during latelife/decommissioning
A flexible, cost-effective framework for managing late-life/decommissioningphase maintenance for both fixed and floating platforms
The framework materials comprise:
a presentation file to be used for training/briefing, describing:
o

use of the enabler matrix for systematic management of HSE

hazards
o use of the new framework to control inspection/maintenance during
late-life and decommissioning
a spreadsheet containing the inspection/maintenance framework.
o
o

One sheet is blank, ready for use

The other is an Operator example for a Normally Unmanned
Installation (NUI)
The framework is easily modified for each Operators specific systems.
This guideline is intended to assist in the management of late-life /
decommissioning inspection and maintenance for fixed and floating offshore oil
and gas facilities on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).
As experience in late-life operations and decommissioning develops across
Operators, it is recommended that this Guideline is reviewed periodically.

October 2015

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

2.

Offshore Decommissioning Workflow

End of productionrelated
insp./maintenance
Need to manage
for production
phase & future
decom phase
needs

Need to manage
Safety Critical
Elements &
current/future
decom phase
needs

Need to manage reducing no. of Safety Critical Elements, and inspect/maintain

for current/future decom phase needs

As the workflow moves through each Decommissioning Phase, the inspection

and maintenance drivers change (and often reduce), with a shift away from
being production-driven towards being decommissioning/removal-driven.
This Section provides definitions for the decommissioning phases referred to in
the Operations, Inspection and Maintenance Framework.
Although individual Operators may prefer to use different definitions, it is
recommended that these definitions are adopted.
Consistent use of definitions would allow effective benchmarking to be carried
out, allowing the industry to more accurately compare cost norms and
expectations for different platforms at different phases of decommissioning.

2.1 Definitions of the Decommissioning Phases

Full Production Phase
o Pre-commencement of late life phase
Warm Suspension (Fully Live)
o
o
o

The platform/subsea structure has permanently ceased production.

Hydrocarbon and/or pressure containment systems have not been
decommissioned.
Safety Management System: All safety critical elements defined in
the Safety Management System for this level of suspension are to
be inspected/maintained.

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

Environmental Management System: All environmentally critical

elements defined the Environmental Management System for the
level of suspension are to be inspected/maintained.
Warm Suspension, Live Wells (only applicable for structures with
wells)
o
o

The platform/subsea structure has permanently ceased production.

Wells: All wells have not been permanently Plugged and
Abandoned.
o Pipelines: Import & export pipelines have been decommissioned.
o Secure from health, safety and environmental hazards to agreed
standards.
o Topsides: Process pipework has been decommissioned from the
riser to the production tree of each well, and to any connected
platforms.
All process equipment (compressors, pumps, control systems,
etc) decommissioned ready for removal
Secure from health, safety and environmental hazards to
agreed standards.
o Safety Management System: All Safety critical elements defined in
the Safety Management System for this level of suspension are to
be inspected/maintained.
o Environmental Management System: All environmentally critical
elements defined in the Environmental Management system for this
level of suspension are to be inspected/maintained.
Warm Suspension (Live Process)
o
o

The platform/subsea structure has permanently ceased production.

Wells: All wells have been permanently Plugged & Abandoned and
conductors cut below seabed at agreed depth.
o Pipelines: Import & export pipelines have not been decommissioned.
o Topsides: Process pipework has not been decommissioned from the
riser to the production tree of each well, and/or to any connected
platforms.
o Safety Management System: All Safety critical elements defined in
the Safety Management System for this level of suspension are to
be inspected/maintained.
o Environmental Management System: All environmentally critical
elements defined in the Environmental Management system for this
level of suspension are to be inspected/maintained.
Cold Suspension, manned or unmanned
o
o
o
o
o

October 2015

The platform/subsea structure has permanently ceased production.

Wells: All wells have been permanently Plugged & Abandoned and
conductors cut below seabed at agreed depth.
Pipelines: Import & export pipelines have been decommissioned.
Secure from health, safety and environmental hazards to agreed
standards.
Topsides: Process pipework has been decommissioned from the
riser to the production tree of each well, and to any connected
platforms.
All process equipment (compressors, pumps, control systems,
etc.) decommissioned ready for removal

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

Secure from health, safety and environmental hazards to

agreed standards.
o Manning:
Manned: The platform is manned, with accommodation,
personnel welfare systems and utilities inspected and
maintained to agreed standards.
Unmanned: The platform is normally unmanned, with required
emergency refuge, personnel welfare systems and utilities
maintained to agreed standards.
o Safety Management System: All Safety critical elements defined in
the Safety Management System for this level of suspension are to
be inspected/maintained.
o
Environmental Management System: All environmentally critical
elements defined in the Environmental Management system for this
level of suspension are to be inspected/maintained.
Partial Removal, manned or unmanned
o
o
o
o
o
o

o
o

The platform/subsea structure has permanently ceased production.

Wells: All wells have been permanently Plugged & Abandoned and
conductors cut below seabed at agreed depth.
Pipelines: Import & export pipelines have been decommissioned.
Secure from health, safety and environmental hazards to agreed
standards.
Topsides: Process pipework has been decommissioned from the
riser to the production tree of each well, and to any connected
platforms.
All process equipment (compressors, pumps, control systems, etc.)
decommissioned ready for removal
Secure from health, safety and environmental hazards to
agreed standards.
The topsides or major components/ modules on the topsides
have been removed.
Manning:
Manned: The platform is manned, with accommodation,
personnel welfare systems and utilities inspected and
maintained to agreed standards.
Unmanned: The platform is normally unmanned, with required
emergency refuge, personnel welfare systems and utilities
maintained to agreed standards.
Safety Management System: All Safety critical elements defined in
the Safety Management System for this level of suspension are to
be inspected/maintained.
Environmental Management System: All environmentally critical
elements defined in the Environmental Management system for this
level of suspension are to be inspected/maintained.

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

3.

Late-Life/Decommissioning Cost Reductions

The sources of cost reduction are typically driven through reductions in
inspection, maintenance and consumables needs. Some examples of direct
and indirect cost savings may include:
Direct Savings

Offshore manhours
Onshore manhours
Spare parts and Inventory

Indirect Savings

Documentation reduced
Helicopter flights / Supply boats
Accommodation costs
Manager and Technical Authority time

Other Benefits

HSE improvements as fewer man-hours offshore

Focussed maintenance leads to better reliability

Experience from infrastructure in the other regions indicates that inspection &
maintenance during decommissioning can be safety and steadily downscaled
through effective management of activities.
The charts on Figure 1, below illustrate trends for cost savings, although assetspecific factors will drive the savings achievable at each stage of
decommissioning.
For manned platforms, safely managed reductions in Inspection & Maintenance
can typically only be achieved post Cessation of Production (COP) as there is
little scope for reduction while in the production phase.
For unmanned installations, carefully managed reductions can potentially be
made during the late-life operating phase, as preventative maintenance is
phased out.
Note that Inspection & Maintenance is not separated out in the Large, Manned
Installations chart due to limitations in the available datasets.

It should be recognised that there are decommissioning activities which may be

more intensive than typical ongoing platform operations, such as increased
crew numbers during well Plugging and Abandonment (P&A), or for the
installation of lift points prior to removal. These activities may require increased
power generation and craneage requirements, which in turn may result in
increased Operations, Inspection and Maintenance costs.
The high intensity activities may include but are not limited to:

October 2015

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

Decommissioning Phase:

Potential high intensity activity:

Warm Suspension / Warm Stack

Freeing of hydrocarbons and well

plugging & abandonment
Engineering and installation of lift points

Removal

Removal, including use of barges and

heavy lift vessels

Dismantle and Dispose

Dismantling and disposal

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

a) Large, Manned Installations

Limited scope for pre-cessation cost reductions due to high fixed OPEX & start
of decommissioning
b) Normally Unmanned Installations (NUIs

Reduced reliability-related inspection/maintenance achievable in late-life

Figure 1 Reduced Inspection/Maintenance of Production/Safety-critical
Elements after Production Ceases & Accident Hazards are eliminated.

October 2015

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

4.

Inspection and Maintenance Assessment Process

This section describes a process by which inspection and maintenance
requirements during the late-life and decommissioning phases can be
assessed.

4.1 Inspection and Maintenance Framework

A key difference between Decommissioning and Production Operations is the
type of hazards encountered. During production, the hazards remain constant
(such as loss of containment) whereas the hazards encountered during
decommissioning change substantially from Cessation of Production (CoP) to
completion of the decommissioning project, typically reducing as the
decommissioning phases are progressed.
Certain hazards will disappear as decommissioning progresses (e.g. with
removal of process hydrocarbons, there is no risk of Loss of Containment). It
may also be that the risk of Fire and Explosion is not present, depending on
whether factors such as presence of utility hydrocarbons such as diesel.
One of the keys to reducing inspection and maintenance is the efficient
management of changing safety requirements.
A useful tool to ensure that all hazards are recognised and properly managed
is to build a Hazard and Safety Critical Elements Matrix.
Table 1 below presents an example Hazard and Safety Critical Elements Matrix
and lists the different hazards horizontally in the table. The corresponding
Safety Critical Elements (SCEs) to manage these are listed on the vertical axis
of the Table.
Hazards

Safety Critical Elements

Hazard &
Fire /
Loss of
Structural
Ship
Helicopter
SCE Matrix Explosion Containment Failure Collision
crash

Navigational
Aids

Prevention
Detect /
Control

Detect
Mitigate

Table 1 Hazard and Safety Critical Elements Matrix

Examples of Safety Critical Elements:

Hydrocarbon containment (Prevention)

Gas / flame detectors (Detect)
Drilling well kill system (Control)
Temporary refuge integrity (Mitigate)
Emergency Response and Recovery Vessel (ERRV) (Rescue / Recover)

October 2015

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

When all hazards associated with a given SCE have been eliminated, by
definition that SCE becomes redundant, and inspection/maintenance for it may
be discontinued.
This justified reduction in inspection/maintenance can then be mapped on to a
Operations, Inspection & Maintenance Matrix, as illustrated in Table 2. This
allows the changes in Inspection & Maintenance requirements to be mappedout in advance.
The horizontal axis indicates the decommissioning phase that a platform is in,
and the vertical axis the various equipment and systems for which maintenance
is being managed.
Based on the HSE logic illustrated in the Hazard & SCE Matrix shown before,
justified reductions in HSE-related inspection/maintenance can be agreed and
summarised in this table.
The format is generic, and the titles on the 2 axes (horizontal & vertical) can be
modified as required to fit internal workflows and maintenance
framework/definitions.
In some cases (life boats, walkway gratings etc.) no reduction in inspection &
maintenance can be achieved regardless of whether a platform is operating or
in the decommissioning phase (e.g. a manned platform will have evacuation
needs even when hydrocarbons are removed). This unchanged
inspection/maintenance regime is referenced by a green-coloured cell.
Where partial reductions in inspection & maintenance are feasible, e.g. by
reduced inspection frequency, or de-rating of equipment, or due to redundancy
of sub-systems, this reduced/changed requirement is referenced by an ambercoloured cell. It is important to make some indication as-to what the changed
requirement is (in the cell itself or in the comments box on the right tab). An
example is where manning levels are reduced, reducing the number of
lifeboats required).
Where it is possible to cease inspection & maintenance for a system, this is
indicated by a white cell with a line through it.
The descriptors on the horizontal axis take into account that requirements
during the decommissioning phase may be different during some periods of
high/decommissioning activity e.g. platform navigational aids (NavAids) may
not be required while a drilling rig is interfacing with a small platform, as the rig
will utilise its own NavAids, etc.

October 2015

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

Operations & Maintenance framework

Bases for Inspection & Maintenance

Strategy
Health (Present, Future)

Legend

Safety (Present, Future)

Fully Maintained

Environment (Present, Future)

Partially Maintained

Reliability (Present, Future)

No maintenance

Production Phase
Pre-late life Late life

EQUIPMENT /
ITEM

Warm Suspension (Fully Live)

Insp. &
Final Clean &
Maintenance Disconnect

Plug &
Abandon

Warm Suspension (Live

Wells)
Insp. &
Maintenance

Plug &
Abandon

Warm Suspension (Live

Process)

Performance Standards (Present,

Future)

Insp. &
Final Clean &
Maintenance Disconnect

SCE

COMMENTS

HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE
Production
Production
Production
Production
Production
Utilities
Utilities
Access
Access

Table 2 Operations, Inspection & Maintenance Framework

10

Cold
Partial
Suspension Removal

October 2015

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

5.

Implementing the Framework

An example of how one Operator applied the Operations, Inspection &
Maintenance framework is as follows:
(a)

Ensure Governance document exists that drives Business Plan process

to determine premised CoP dates (& uncertainty)

(b)

Identify different phases & milestones of late-life & decommissioning

(c)

Outline the requirements for the different phases of decommissioning

(d)

Modify existing maintenance philosophy & strategy documents

Main focus will be on safety critical maintenance

Several years before CoP, carry-out review of planned & corrective

maintenance routines & budget drivers to identify maintenance work that
can be eliminated during the late-life & decom phases

Carry out risk-assessments / Management of Change (MoCs) as

appropriate.

Ensure discipline Technical Authorities (TAs) are involved

Regulatory & industry standards to be maintained where required.

incl. Safety Case & Verification and Examination Scheme (VES)
programme

(e)

Adjust maintenance management system to reflect changes(e.g. SAP

ZC notification process, MAXIMO, etc.)

(f)

Review materials and spare holdings and adjust stock levels as required

(g)

Feed information into Integrated Planning

communication between all relevant parties.

process

to

ensure

ENSURE OFFSHORE ASSET MAINTENANCE TEAMS ARE INVOLVED IN

ALL REVIEWS
Agreeing the changed performance standards and inspection/maintenance
requirements during late-life & decommissioning is a process requiring input
from many customers, Technical Authorities, Independent Verification Body
(IVB)/ Independent Competent Person (ICP), etc. The Operator can therefore
establish a Late-Life/Decommissioning Strategy Work Group to progress the
various issues and changes.
This is done as an iterative process as the decommissioning plan progresses
since the decommissioning plan and inspection & maintenance plans influence
each other, depending on costs and other practicalities. In other words,
changes in the decommissioning plan should be reflected in the Inspection &
Maintenance plans, requiring updates in the Operations, Inspection &
Maintenance Framework.
The green/amber colour coding (as described in Section 4.1 above) is used as
the basis for consultation and to guide approved changes in inspection &
maintenance routines.
Materials and spares levels are also correspondingly adjusted.

October 2015

11

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

Appendix 2 presents a worked example of the Operations, Inspection &

Maintenance Framework.
The example shows a limited number of line items for visibility, although in
practise there could be a much larger number of systems on platforms which
offer potential for changed inspection/maintenance.

12

October 2015

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

Appendix 1

Abbreviations

October 2015

CoP

Cessation of Production

ERRV

Emergency Response and Recovery Vessel

HSE

Health, Safety and Environment

ICP

Independent Competent Person

IVB

Independent Verification Body

MoC

Management of Change

NavAids

Navigational Aids

NUI

Normally Unmanned Installation

P&A

Plugging and Abandonment

SCE

Safety Critical Element

TA

Technical Authority

UKCS

United Kingdom Continental Shelf

VES

Verification and Examination Scheme

13

Guidelines on Late-Life/Decommissioning
Inspection and Maintenance

Appendix 2

Worked Example Operations, Inspection & Maintenance Framework

Operations & Maintenance
framework
Legend
Fully Maintained
Partially Maintained
No maintenance

Production Phase
Pre-late
life

EQUIPMENT /
ITEM

HSE
HSE

Accumulators &
Pulsation Dampers
Batteries &
Uninterruptible
Power Supplies
(UPS)

HSE

Navigation Aids

HSE
HSE

Distribution Boards
Earthing/Bonding
Diesel System
(Tanks and
Pipework)
Engines: Diesel
Fire & Gas
Instrumentation
Alternators and
Generators
Lighting
Motor Control
Centres (MCCs)

HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE

Electric Motors

HSE

Safe Marine
System
Small Power
Circuits
Electrical
Switchboard
Portable Electrical
Equipment
Telecoms

HSE

Temporary Refuge

HSE
HSE
HSE
HSE

14

Late life

Warm Suspension (Fully Live)

Insp. &
Final Clean &
Maintenance Disconnect

Plug &
Abandon

Warm Suspension (Live

Wells)
Insp. &
Plug &
Maintenance Abandon

Warm Suspension (Live

Process)
Insp. &
Final Clean &
Maintenance Disconnect

Cold
Partial
Suspension Removal

SCE

Bases for Inspection & Maintenance

Strategy
Health (Present, Future)
Safety (Present, Future)
Environment (Present, Future)
Reliability (Present, Future)
Performance Standards (Present,
Future)

COMMENTS

Reactive
maintenance
For fire & gas systems &
communications
Utilise rig
navigational
aids

Utilise AWV
navigational
aids

Safety Critical equipment only

Safety Critical equipment only

Safety Critical equipment
only

Safety Critical equipment only

Safety Critical equipment only

Safety Critical equipment only

Reduced
inspection/maintenance
requirement if de-pressurised

October 2015

Marker
Buoys

Marker
buoys or
Removal
vessel
NavAids

Until buoys are installed, or NUI is in

Cold Suspension