New Regulatory Instrument for Brazilian Decommissioning of Oil and Gas Installations

Abstract

The Brazilian decommissioning industry faces challenges in the onshore and offshore environments that could potentially lead to operational safety problems and environmental impacts. In 2020, the Brazilian regulators brought innovations to the decommissioning plans, implementing a new resolution. On the economic aspect, this instrument aims to promote the sector's business conditions and to have it adapted to recognized internationally decom technical standards. On the regulatory side, it aims to compare alternative solutions for decommissioning facilities adopting at least technical, environmental, social, safety, and economic criteria. The existing framework was discussed with different stakeholders, involving industry, society, and academics. Several improvements and opportunities for the sector were identified, suggesting the necessity of improving the local decom infrastructure and technological enhancements to extend the lifecycle of fields. The adoption of Conceptual Installation decommissioning program (IDP) and Executive IDP by the resolution allowed the operator to determine the general lines of actions related to the decommissioning, allowing better planning, and reducing project uncertainties. As seen, the IDP requires the consideration of a multicriteria analysis and the need to be cautionary. The Conceptual IDP ensures a better field development and the best decommissioning planning in initial stages. The new resolution established welldefined rules aimed at field life extension and the recovery factor, lowering costs, and preventing premature decommissioning of the field in a safe manner, minimizing risks to people and the environment, in addition to establishing that the operator must evaluate the possibility of using the asset for another purposes.