In 2015 we began working with Fairfield, which owns and manages the Dunlin Alpha oilfield, in the North Sea; and which is no longer extracting oil and is ready for de-commissioning. The client had already commissioned significant amounts of technical and scientific research to support the decision-making process and R4C supported them to structure a day which enabled stakeholders, some from competing interest groups, to understand the process, hear what had been learnt so far, and to express their views on a number of different options.
Over 70 individuals attended a day long workshop in Aberdeen, where they were able to examine scale models, hear about the de-commissioning process, learn about some of the technical challenges and potential solutions, and feed in through structured but informal sessions, their knowledge and views. Also in attendance were representatives from the regulators.
The day included presentations, round table discussions, (above) interactive feedback sessions on specific areas relating to the de-commissioning and networking time for informal conversations.
The feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive, with participants stating they felt they had both learned about some of the challenges and also been enabled to feed in their views; and the client feeling that this had established, or built on, good working relationships with their stakeholders and the regulators. Following the event, we produced a report for the client which was circulated to all those who attended and which captured all the issues raised, together with any responses.