The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has published its first table highlighting operators that are behind on decommissioning their inactive North Sea wells. According to the table, 13 operators have missed their consent deadlines for fully decommissioning a total of 153 inactive wells. The wells range from West of Shetland to the Southern North Sea and East Irish Sea, with the majority in the Central North Sea.
Nine operators including Apache, CalEnergy, Dana, Energean, Equinor, Harbour, ONE-DYAS, Petrogas, and Walforf, which operate a total of 780 wells, were found to be in compliance with their consent deadlines.
The table comes after the NSTA launched its Transparency Consultation in 2024 which aims to publish information about operators that fall behind on their decommissioning obligations as soon as an investigation begins.
“The number of wells in this table demonstrates the size of the task facing industry. The NSTA is well aware of the potential cost, and the logistical difficulties, but while many operators are delivering, too many are failing to meet obligations. Delays can impact on cost and cause reputational damage,” said NSTA Director of Supply Chain and Decommissioning Pauline Innes.
Wood Mackenzie reported in January there is growing evidence in the decommissioning sector of supply chain constraints and rising costs, estimated to be worth $58 billion through to the early 2060s. Today, there are 242 producing offshore fields in the UK North Sea and 255 that have ceased production, 76 of which have been decommissioned.
Wood Mackenzie estimated gross decommissioning costs are expected to eclipse development capital expenditures by 2032 and peak at over $3.5 billion per year in the mid-2030s.
In July, NSTA published the UKCS Decommissioning Cost and Performance Update 2025 which estimated that more than $51 billion remains to be spent on decommissioning North Sea infrastructure, with well plugging and abandonment (P&A) making up about half of the total.
NSTA is urging operators to take immediate action to reduce the backlog of the almost 1,000 inactive wells in the North Sea and has introduced tools like the TWIST database, the Pathfinder app, and P&A planning initiatives to support compliance.
“Greater transparency is welcome. We hope that publishing this list today will encourage operators to continue working with us to ensure that they meet all their regulatory obligations and help to secure a level playing field on the North Sea,” said NSTA General Counsel and Company Secretary Russell Richardson.