DECOMMISSIONING & ABANDONMENT
Project Investigates Public Attitudes And Perceptions Towards The Decommissioning Of Marine Artificial Structures
These advanced visual tools, developed by researchers based at the NDC, will allow stakeholders to visualise complex MAS decommissioning scenarios and support their understanding of the intricate environmental, economic and social trade-offs involved.
The overall ambition is to deliver comprehensive, transparent and impactful research that advances awareness of the environmental, economic and socio-economic issues associated with MAS decommissioning. The READ-ME project will deliver an evidence-based and stakeholder-informed foundation for future policy development and marine governance.
The University of Plymouth is leading a new project which is exploring public and stakeholder attitudes towards marine artificial structures and what people think should happen to them once they reach the end of their operational lives.
A growing proportion of the UK’s energy infrastructure is located at sea, in the form of oil and gas platforms and offshore wind farms along with the connecting cables and pipelines.
But determining the most sustainable and socially desirable options for decommissioning these Marine Artificial Structures (MAS), once they reach the end of their operational lives, is a key challenge facing industry, policy makers, regulators and civil society.
A new project aims to address this by exploring some of the diverse public and stakeholder attitudes and perceptions towards the ecological, economic and social evidence for different decommissioning options.
The READ-ME project is being delivered by researchers from the University of Plymouth, the University of Aberdeen, Daryl Burdon Ltd, the National Decommissioning Centre (NDC), and the ECAP Consultancy Group (UK) Ltd. and funded by the Influence of man-made structures in the ecosystem (INSITE) programme – Phase Three.
The delivery team will be supported by a project steering group whose members represent organisations including Historic England, Scottish Government Marine Directorate, Celtic Sea Power, Cardiff University, National Oceanography Centre, The Crown Estate, University of St Andrews and the Blue Marine Foundation.
The project will focus on the MAS of the North Sea and aims to enhance social science survey techniques with immersive 3D models and interactive geo-visualisations.
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Professor Siân Rees, Professor of Marine Conservation at the University of Plymouth, is the READ-ME project’s principal investigator.
She said: “The decommissioning of marine artificial structures presents a complex and pressing challenge for sustainable ocean management. Our vision is to deliver a comprehensive research programme that investigates public and stakeholder attitudes and perceptions toward the decommissioning of oil and gas platforms, offshore wind farms, their associated infrastructure, and also includes a consideration of the management of shipwrecks as MAS. Set against a backdrop of the global Climate Emergency and the Biodiversity Crisis, not to mention a time of significant change for the UK’s energy industry, our project will create an evidence-based and stakeholder-informed foundation for guiding decommissioning that directly supports policy development, public engagement, and sustainable marine governance.”
Phase 3 of the INSITE programme carries the aim of providing stakeholders with the independent scientific evidence base needed to better understand the influence of marine artificial structures on the North Sea ecosystem.
Dr Paula Duffy, Dr Kate Gormley and Professor Tavis Potts, from the University of Aberdeen, added: “The decommissioning sector is critically important for opportunities in the energy transition, both in the North East of Scotland and the wider UK economy. Understanding community and stakeholder values is critical, yet this dimension is oſten overlooked in decommissioning decisions. It is essential to understand social values that can support and identify decommissioning options that maximise employment, community benefit, and safeguard natural capital. This research will contribute to the evidence base needed to ensure decommissioning strategies reflect societal priorities while supporting a just transition for North Sea communities.”
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