Converting Offshore Oil and Gas Infrastructures into Renewable Energy Generation Plants: An Economic and Technical Analysis of the Decommissioning Delay in the Brazilian Case

Jime Braga (), Thauan Santos, Milad Shadman, Corbiniano Silva, Luiz Filipe Assis Tavares and Segen Estefen
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Jime Braga: Graduate Program in Maritime Studies, Brazilian Naval War College, Rio de Janeiro 22290-240, Brazil
Thauan Santos: Graduate Program in Maritime Studies, Brazilian Naval War College, Rio de Janeiro 22290-240, Brazil
Milad Shadman: Ocean Engineering Department, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-914, Brazil
Corbiniano Silva: Civil Engineering Department, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-907, Brazil
Luiz Filipe Assis Tavares: Ocean Engineering Department, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-914, Brazil
Segen Estefen: Ocean Engineering Department, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 21941-914, Brazil

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 21, 1-22

Abstract: The offshore harnessing of oil and gas resources is made possible by massive infrastructures installed at sea. At the end-of-life stage, in the absence of new uses for offshore installations, decommissioning proceedings usually take place, requiring the removal and final disposal of all materials. In Brazilian waters, decommissioning is hampered by high costs. The offshore wind-power sector has arisen as a new clean power source, in line with worldwide de-carbonization initiatives. In this context, we propose an innovative approach suggesting offshore wind power projects as an alternative to the removal and final disposal of infrastructures, a potential solution to Brazilian offshore decommissioning. In this article we report on the assessment of structures at the end of their lifecycle along with decommissioning cost estimation. Then, we explore wind turbine installation viability along the Brazilian coast and estimate the levelized cost of energy for each wind turbine. Finally, the results allow us to conduct a critical analysis of customary decommissioning versus the repurposing of infrastructures as offshore wind power project sites in two scenarios involving site repurposing. Our main results indicate that the CapEx discount rate of wind power projects offsetting decommissioning is considerable, as are the benefits of delaying decommissioning in terms of reduced carbon emissions and the social effects of increased local employment rates, through the repurposing of offshore oil and gas infrastructures.

Keywords: sustainability; decommissioning; abandonment of field; renewables; de-carbonization; wind energy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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