Title: A review of onshore and offshore pipeline construction and decommissioning cost in the USA - part 2. Offshore and deepwater decommissioning cost algorithms

Authors: Mark J. Kaiser

Addresses: Center for Energy Studies, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Abstract: In the second part of this two-part review on the cost to construct and decommission oil and gas pipelines in the USA, summary data of offshore pipeline construction and decommissioning cost are described, along with hypothetical pipeline decommissioning cost algorithms for the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Similarities and differences between design and construction trade-offs are described to better understand the cost differences that arise between projects. Over long periods of time, significant temporal impacts enter cost statistics due to inflation, market conditions, regulatory and technology changes, and spatial impacts are always present due to differences in geologic conditions, infrastructure, and terrain. Most factors are unobservable and not available for evaluation, but there are many similarities in processes and infrastructure that allow normalised cost to serve as a useful first-order benchmark. [Received: May 26, 2020; Accepted: June 3, 2020]

Keywords: benchmarking; cost statistics; offshore vs. onshore; pipeline construction; pipeline decommissioning; USA.

DOI: 10.1504/IJOGCT.2021.116672

International Journal of Oil, Gas and Coal Technology, 2021 Vol.27 No.4, pp.363 - 398

Received: 26 May 2020
Accepted: 03 Jun 2020
Published online: 29 Jul 2021 *

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