Aquaterra Energy and James Fisher team up to deliver simplified decommissioning

July 13, 2026, by Nadja Skopljak

Aquaterra Energy and James Fisher and Sons have established a decommissioning partnership to offer operators a single, integrated route to plan and execute well abandonment and infrastructure removal programs more efficiently, with fewer interfaces and greater execution certainty.

Aquaterra Energy is leading front-end engineering and well access solutions, while James Fisher, through its energy division, is delivering subsea operations and offshore execution expertise.

This coordinated approach is said to give operators fewer handovers, stronger accountability and greater certainty from initial scope development through to execution, while retaining the flexibility to adapt as project requirements evolve.

“Decommissioning programmes are increasingly moving away from simple, isolated scopes. The next generation of projects will require tight engineering control, early integration and the ability to adapt quickly as conditions change,” said Matt Marcantonio, Head of Engineering at Aquaterra Energy.

“By aligning our expertise with James Fisher from the outset, we can shape more efficient scopes, prevent downstream redesign and ultimately reduce offshore duration. We see this as a way to give operators the confidence to take on decommissioning programmes that are becoming more technically demanding and commercially pressured, while keeping the agility needed to respond as projects evolve.”

The partnership will operate on a project-by-project basis, with team composition determined by scope, including the use of cross-trained crews to reduce the number of people offshore (POB) and lower overall exposure to risk. The companies will work within an agreed framework and will remain independent.

The plan is to operate globally, with initial focus on the North Sea, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and the Middle East. The partners said they were already engaging with operators on upcoming decommissioning opportunities across multiple regions.

“What operators are looking for now is delivery confidence, predictable execution, fewer interfaces and teams who already understand how to work together,” said Mark Stephen, Product Line Director – Decommissioning & CFE at James Fisher Energy.

“By combining our subsea operations capability with Aquaterra Energy’s early engineering and well access expertise, we can remove many of the common friction points that slow projects down offshore. This model gives operators a scalable, field-proven approach that directly supports safer, more efficient execution as global decommissioning activity accelerates.”