First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has launched a new £5 million decommissioning challenge fund.
The move came as Shell submitted controversial plans to the UK Government for the partial removal of the ageing Brent field infrastructure.
The new fund is designed to support infrastructure upgrades and innovation in salvage and transport methods at Scotland’s ports and harbours.
Ms Sturgeon said the decom sector was emerging but growing and spend in the North Sea is expected to reach £17.6 billion over the next 10 years.
Dundeecom, a collective designed to attract decommissioning work to Dundee, Montrose and Methil, is a central plank of the Tay Cities Deal bid.
Ms Sturgeon said: “Scottish-based firms are already seizing opportunities, securing the lion’s share of value from a range of decommissioning activities.”
Deirdre Michie, chief executive of Oil & Gas UK, said: “Our forecasts suggest an average of £1.7 billion will be spent on decommissioning in the UK each year over the next 10 years and so it is helpful that we should support the UK supply chain to develop its capacity to compete effectively.”
Scottish Labour economy spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said time was of the essence when it came to decom.
“Decommissioning can be a thriving industry for the north-east of Scotland, including Dundee, but the government needs to get a move on,” she said.
Announcement of the fund, which also has the backing of Scottish Enterprise, followed Shell’s submission to the UK Government of its Brent field decom plan.
The document recommends removal of the upper steel jacket on Brent Alpha, and the topsides of the four Brent platforms along with debris on the seabed.
However, three gravity base structures, Brent Alpha’s footings and sediment in concrete storage cells would stay in situ under the plans, which have angered environmental campaigners.
