NSTA Technology Survey & Insights

Technology deployments rose to 1,250 last year in the UKCS

Well intervention and decom innovations featured in report

Vibrating hammer which unblocks wells among the new technologies

Innovative technologies designed to boost production, aid decommissioning and cut emissions were among the solutions used recently in the North Sea.

Technologies were used 1,250 times in 2023, up from 1,200 in 2022 and 1,080 in 2021, according to the latest Technology Insights Report from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA).

The relentless innovation shows that the industry still has the thirst to develop new solutions to accelerate the energy transition, support energy production and cut emissions.

Operators expect to buy £232m worth of technology from suppliers and spend £78m on their own research and development in 2024. The figures were £181m and £66m, respectively, in 2023.

The insights for this report were gathered via the UK Stewardship Survey which was completed by 50 UKCS licensees by the end of February 2024. It groups technologies under 10 categories and provides examples of their implementation and benefits.

Operators used technologies to support well intervention work, including a high-pressure, high-temperature “storm choke” for reactivating shut-in wells whose safety valves had failed. They also saved vessel time by using real-time slickline, a type of cable which can operate various tools for checking and enhancing the condition of wells in a single run.

Boosting well intervention activity is a priority for the NSTA, which recently completed a study showing that more than 20 million barrels could potentially be produced cheaply and cleanly by bringing approximately 200 existing wells back online. The NSTA co-hosted a workshop in Aberdeen on 11 November to discuss cost-effective ways to get this work up and running.

The NSTA is also using its regulatory powers and providing greater volumes of data to encourage operators to tackle the backlog of wells awaiting decommissioning in a cost-efficient manner.

In 2023, operators used a suspended well abandonment tool which can be operated from a dynamically positioned vessel, less expensive than mobilising a rig, and a novel “hammer” which uses vibrations and powerful impacts to dislodge objects stuck down wells.

Several operators reported that they had used a multi-purpose, remotely-operated vehicle which can cut subsea pipelines and bury exposed ends, recover concrete mattresses and clear debris.

Facilities management was the largest category, with technologies spanning integrity monitoring, including non-intrusive inspections, advanced analytic software using machine learning and remote/robotic access.

The use of digital technologies and those with net zero applications has expanded rapidly in the North Sea, making up 46% of all utilisations in 2023, compared with 37% in 2021.

As the sector pushes to meet and surpass emissions reduction targets in the North Sea Transition Deal, on the way to net zero by 2050, technologies which can improve energy efficiency, reduce flaring and venting and cut fuel use are in demand.

Operators reported a renewable energy “pod” which delivers power to smaller, unmanned platforms with wind, solar and battery storage. They also used a liquid ring compressor, which uses liquid seals instead of metallic parts, to compress gas, thereby reducing vibration and wear. 

NSTA Technology Manager Ernie Lamza said: “The North Sea has an established reputation as a world-renowned testbed for ground-breaking technologies which can help solve challenging industry problems, and the rising uptake of these, once proven, offers significant benefits to end users. Our Technology Insights Report aims to raise awareness of technologies which are being used successfully by some, but not all, operators, and hence encourage wider uptake across the basin.

“It is encouraging that operators and suppliers continue to invest and work together on the deployment of many hundreds of innovative solutions. Collaboration is key to reducing emissions and delivering a speedy and successful energy transition, so I’d urge industry to keep up the good work.”