The Development of the Strategy and Plan for the Decommissioning and Abandonment of 36^″ Offshore Oil Export Pipelines

Execution of projects for the decommissioning and abandonment of platforms, facilities and pipelines have long been considered by oil and gas Operators as an issue and a significant financial burden best deferred for the future. However with increasing environmental awareness and legislation, decommissioning & abandonment projects can be effectively carried out today, by considering the options and adopting an environmentally acceptable and pragmatic solution whilst also avoiding the risk of more stringent future legislation. This paper is focused on the strategy and operational planning aspects of the decommissioning and abandonment of two 36^″ offshore oil export and one 30^″ ballast pipelines from a marine terminal to offshore PLEMs for PEMEX in Mexico. These pipelines were shutdown and isolated in 1990 pending decommissioning and since then suffered from a very poor failure record. As a result of these failures, the pipelines have been under the scrutiny of the Mexican Environmental Authority (PROFEPA), in order to monitor and manage the ongoing environmental risk. The paper reviews the applicable international standards and legislation with respect to pipeline decommissioning and includes a review of the decommissioning and abandonment options & considerations in this case.