Chevron, Apache to be among top decommissioning customers, report predicts
A new study on the Gulf of Mexico sheds light on which companies are likely to be most in the market for decommissioning services based on the number of idle structures they own.
EPL Oil & Gas, Inc. is operator of the greatest number of idle structures (98), followed by Apache Corp. (89), Chevron USA (77), Apache Shelf Inc. (64), W&T Offshore Inc. (50), and Stone Energy Corp. (49), according to DecomWorld’s latest Gulf of Mexico Offshore Decommissioning Report 2014.
The top 10 operators own 3,090 wells idle for five years or more, amounting to 72% of the inventory covered under the “idle iron” Notice to Lessees (NTL 10-5).
Chevron USA Inc. (671) and Apache Corp. (548) lead the list, followed by EPL Oil & Gas, Inc. (437), SandRidge Energy Offshore, LLC (285), and Energy Resource Technology GOM, Inc. (236).
Operators that hold large idle inventories dominate the NTL inventory and will be primary customers of decommissioning services in 2014-2015.
Produced for DecomWorld by Mark J. Kaiser, research and development director at Louisiana State University’s Center for Energy Studies, the report estimates the GOM decommissioning market to be worth $26bn in and around January 2014.
In its fifth edition, the Gulf of Mexico Offshore Decommissioning Report contains detailed market analyses and forecasts for both shallow and deep water, plus updates on transactions and regulatory developments. Click here for more information.