UK: Union Wants No Hold-Up on Decommissioning

GMB, the union for workers in energy industries and the offshore supply chain, has called on the UK Government to ensure there are no delays in offshore decommissioning to help protect thousands of supply chain jobs.

Namely, according to GMB, there is no ‘logical case’ for delaying decisions since there are nearly 300 platforms that need to be decommissioned and 4,000 wells plugged and abandoned.

The GMB has told the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd, that delaying offshore installation decommissioning work any further would be ‘catastrophic’ for jobs and investment.

Brian Strutton, GMB National Secretary for energy, said: “GMB has written to government warning that offshore decommissioning decisions should not be delayed.

“By all means extend the working lives of oil and gas platforms where possible but don’t just kick the decommissioning can down the road.

“Nearly 300 platforms need to be decommissioned and 4,000 wells plugged and abandoned. Thousands of UK jobs could depend on this work – there is no logical case for delaying decisions.”