Market Size (2015)
2015
$4.35B
Vertical: EnPBase Year: 201610 Sections
Market Size (2015)
2015
$4.35B
Projected (2023)
2023
$7.35B
CAGR (2015–2023)
6.8%
6.8%Key Players
113+
Offshore decommissioning refers to the decommissioning of oil and gas facilities that are approaching the end of their useful design life or economic operation. Aging offshore oil and gas structures are a major environmental concern and liability to countries, operators, contactors and affects surrounding marine environment.
The market is driven by various factors such as increasing oil and gas platform around the world. Especially in the North Sea region and Gulf of Mexico, the oil and gas industry is determined to remove these structures to reduce environmental penalties and also to reduce operating cost of these aging wells. However, the growth of this market is expected to be hindered by the uncertain cost and strict environmental and regulation laws surrounding the offshore decommissioning projects.
The global offshore decommissioning market is expected to grow at 6.93% CAGR during the forecast period. In 2016, the market was led by Europe, with a 70.1% share, followed by North America and Asia-Pacific with shares of 18.9% and 8.9%, respectively.
The global offshore decommissioning market has been segmented based type, service type, application and by region. On the basis of type, topside structures accounted for the largest market share of 56 % in 2016, with a market value of USD 2,586.4 million and is projected to grow at the highest CAGR of 9.05% during the forecast period. Based on application, shallow water accounted for the largest market share of 71.2 % in 2016, with a market value of USD 3,294.3 million and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.98% during the forecast period.
The Offshore Decommissioning Market market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.8% from 2015 to 2023.
Historical performance and future projections (2020–2030, USD Billion)
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View Subscription PlansOffshore decommissioning of aging oil and gas platforms, subsea wells, and related infrastructure is essential to safely remove the equipment used for oil or gas exploration and production, and dispose them at the end of their production. The process of decommissioning of offshore oil and gas platforms, is critical in terms of environmental protection concerns, as it has probable effects on the marine ecosystem, along with disposal of hazardous substances. Offshore decommissioning encompasses different activities for removal of installations, namely, project management, engineering and planning, permitting and regulatory compliance, platform preparation, well plugging and abandonment, conductor removal, mobilization and demobilization of derrick barges, platform removal, pipeline and power cable decommissioning, materials disposal, and site clearance.
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View Subscription PlansThis report applies a rigorous multi-stage research process combining primary interviews, secondary data sources, and bottom-up market modelling to ensure accuracy and completeness across all segments and geographies.
Base Year
2016
Historical Period
2015 – 2016
Forecast Period
2016 – 2023
Primary Interviews
150+
Historical data (2015–2016) and forecast period (2016–2023)
Our research process spans primary interviews with industry stakeholders combined with comprehensive secondary data analysis, validated through triangulation across multiple independent sources.
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View Subscription PlansThreat of New Entrants
Offshore decommissioning companies, trying to enter the market, are required to meet high capital requirements to procure technologies and vessels required for offshore decommissioning. Also, the requirements of high technology and technically advanced resources along with government regulations further increase the threat for new entrants to enter the market. Hence, the threat of new entrants in offshore decommissioning market is low.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
The suppliers in the offshore decommissioning market are the technology and decommissioning vessel suppliers. Supplier concentration in low due to minimum number of suppliers offering various offshore decommissioning technologies. Switching cost of these suppliers is also high, as manufacturers tend to enter into long-term associations with them, in order to ensure uninterrupted decommissioning activity, resulting in the bargaining power of suppliers in the market ranging from high to medium.
Threat of Substitutes
The threat of substitutes is very low in the global offshore decommissioning market. There are no close substitute technologies in the offshore decommissioning market. On the other hand, the price differentiation of different substitutes offered by different companies is high.
Bargaining Power of Buyers
The market has a large number of buyers comprising of oil and gas extraction companies, pipeline installers and offshore platform operators. The competition is, thus, expected to intensify over the period of time and would increase the bargaining power of buyers making it medium to high in the offshore decommissioning market.
Rivalry
The intensity of competitive rivalry is low to medium, as there are several firms offering the offshore decommissioning technology and services. The competition is increased by the presence of new technologies among key players and new entrants, who managed to enter the industry in spite of high entry barriers.
Market estimates by geography (2023)
InsightEurope leads with $5.33B by 2023.
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View Subscription Plans| REGION | 2015 | 2016 | 2023 | CAGR | SHARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asia Pacific | $397.30M | $445.50M | $513.30M | 3.3% | 7% |
| Europe | $3.03B | $3.97B | $5.33B | 7.3% | 73% |
| Rest of the World | $97.10M | $107.20M | $121.70M | 2.9% | 2% |
| North America | $825.30M | $1.05B | $1.38B | 6.7% | 19% |
| Total | $4.35B | $5.57B | $7.35B | 6.8% | 100% |
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View Subscription PlansTotal Market Size
$7.35B
| APPLICATION | REVENUE ($B) | GROWTH RATE | MARKET PENETRATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topside | $4.72B | 6.8% | 72% |
| Substructure | $1.46B | 6.8% | 66% |
| Sub Infrastructure | $1.16B | 6.8% | 77% |
* Revenue projections based on 2025 estimates. Growth rates represent CAGR 2024–2030. Market penetration indicates current adoption rate within addressable market segments.
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Analytical insights on Offshore Decommissioning Market covering market dynamics, competitive landscape, and strategic outlook.
The Offshore Decommissioning Market market is projected to reach $7.35B by 2023, growing at 6.8% CAGR. The Topside segment holds the largest share.
There is an increasing demand for decommissioning of aging oil and gas platforms around the world, with more than 600 projects expected to be dismantled during the next five years. Aging oil and gas fields, are predominant in the North Sea region and Gulf of Mexico region and the oil and gas industry is focussing on removing these structures. Moreover, the oil production from the world’s giant old fields, is continuously declining, and is expected to decline further. This is driving the global oil and gas companies to focus on cost effective ways of decommissioning these fields, while maintaining focus on high environmental and safety standards. According to Oil and Gas Authority. Aberdeen, Scotland, a total of 1,832 wells are forecast to be plugged and abandoned in the North Sea and Norwegian Continental Shelves region. The decommissioning of oil and gas fields help companies develop expertise that can be exported throughout the world, from the Gulf of Mexico to the South China Sea that can generate revenue and also can create thousands of highly skilled jobs.
Offshore oil and gas facilities have the potential of becoming the largest artificial reef systems in the world. Global operators are committing themselves to the Rigs to Reef program, thereby repurposing decommissioned rigs to convert them to artificial reef structures. After decommissioning, these facilities offer vital habitat for marine life in the region. Such biotic reefs have been created in the U.S, the Gulf of Mexico region, Brunei and Malaysia. This can significantly bring down the cost of decommissioning while helping the surrounding marine environment.
The main concern for the operators carrying out offshore decommissioning and abandonment activities is clearly the apparent high cost of decommissioning and lack of return on investment. It is obvious that offshore oil fields generate revenue during the operational phase and bear significant costs that produce no revenue, during decommissioning and abandonment phase. As these costs have been significantly increasing over the previous decades, operators are faced with a major challenge of accurately estimating the final cost for decommissioning projects.
Similarly, the cost of decommissioning varies operators due to their unique approaches and services for decommissioning activities. Furthermore, global operators experienced in decommissioning are generally limited (except the Gulf of Mexico region), which further adds to this cost uncertainty. These high costs may restrain growth of offshore decommissioning market.
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Profiles of 113 companies operating in the Offshore Decommissioning Market market, including revenue, employee count, and market positioning where available.
Showing 113 of 113 companies
DeepOcean Group
DeepOcean Group was established in the year 1985 with headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The company has about 1400 employees and operates mainly in engineering and project management, survey and seabed mapping, subsea installation, seabed intervention, IMR, decommissioning and renewable energy and transmission. To expand their operational presence in 2011, the company acquired ADUS DeepOcean Ltd as a subsidiary that specializes in high-resolution sonar surveying and visualization. The company also offers inspection, maintenance and repair and decommissioning services. They operate globally with main operational presence in countries such as Australia, Brazil, Dubai, Mexico, Norway, U.K. and U.S. DeepOcean Group competes with companies such as TechnipFMC Plc, AF Gruppen ASA., Ramboll Group A/S, Aker Solutions ASA and Amec Foster Wheeler.
Allseas Group S.A
Allseas group SA was established in the year 1985 with headquarters in Châtel-Saint-Denis, Switzerland. The company employs about 3,000 people worldwide and specializes in pipelay operations, heavy lift and subsea construction. Allseas Group S.A provides pipeline services such as engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning. It has operational presence in countries such as Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, USA and Australia. The company operates in business segments such as pipe line installation, protection, subsea operations, installation and decommission of oil fields. Allseas group SA competes with companies such as Tetra Technologies., BP Plc., AF Gruppen, DNV-GL and Ramboll Group A/S.
Claxton Engineering
Claxton Engineering Services was established in the year 1985 with headquarters in Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom. The company is an engineering services company that predominantly operates in projects that focus on increasing asset life extension, cutting and hot tapping services, decommissioning, drilling risers and tensioning & pipeline tools. The company mainly operates in the U.K. and employees about 135 people. They have operational presence in countries such as Norway, Singapore and the UAE. Claxton Engineering offers drilling templates and structures, subsea camera system, drilling riser system and offshore engineering services. Claxton Engineering Services has completed over 280 cutting and recovery projects, over 85 well cuts and over 130 suspended well abandonment projects. Claxton Engineering Services competes with companies such as BP Plc., Statoil ASA, AF Gruppen, DNV-GL and TechnipFMC PLC.
Amec Foster Wheeler
Amec Foster Wheeler was established in the year 1982 with headquarters in London, United Kingdom. Amec Foster Wheeler operates currently in more than 55 countries such as USA, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Canada and China with almost 36,000 employees. Its diversified business is primarily focused on the oil gas & chemicals, power & process, environment & infrastructure and mining. The company offers consultancy, engineering, project management, operations and construction services, project delivery and specialized power equipment services to customers worldwide. The company offers key services in carbon capture and storage, condition assessments, consulting, construction, decommissioning, engineering, environmental services, new build operations & maintenance, project management, sustainability services and training & development. AMEC NSS Limited, Amec Kamtech, Inc.,Stevenson & Associates SRL and Foster Wheeler LLC are its subsidiaries. Amec Foster Wheeler competes with companies such as Claxton Engineering, BP PLC., Allseas Group S.A and Aker Solutions ASA.
Aker Solutions ASA
Aker Solutions ASA was established in the year 2008 with headquarters in Fornebu, Norway. The company is a global provider of products, systems and services to the oil and the gas industry. The company operates currently in 46 locations over 20 countries such as Brazil, Australia, Canada, India, Nigeria and Norway with almost 14,000 employees. Its diversified business is primarily focused on the exploration, development and production and decommissioning. The company offers services from subsea to surface and concept to decommissioning. Some of the subsidiaries of the company are Aker Solutions Enterprises LDA, C.S.E. Mecânica e Instrumentacâo Ltda, Aker Solutions Ghana Ltd, Aker Solutions APAC Sdn Bhd, Aker Powergas Pvt Ltd and Aker Solutions Asset Integrity and Mgt. Canada Inc. Aker Solutions ASA, competes with companies such as Claxton Engineering, BP PLC., Statoil ASA, AF Gruppen ASA and John Wood Group.
Ramboll Group A/S
Company Headquarters: Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded: 1945 Workforce: ~ 16,500 Company Working: Ramboll Group A/S is a global architecture, engineering, and consultancy company, that delivers expertise and sustainable solutions to clients and partners. Ramboll today operates across 35 countries. Ramboll combines deep local insight and experience with a global knowledge base to create sustainable societies and drive positive change for clients. Ramboll works across clients’ value chains, leveraging its expertise, innovation, and creativity to address the risks and opportunities that follow from sustainable change. By bringing together its technical expertise, domain knowledge, and digital capabilities, Ramboll supports clients in driving improvement and developing new business models that are inherently sustainable. Ramboll’s experts are at the heart of Ramboll s operations, helping drive sustainable impact. They deliver standalone and multidisciplinary solutions across Buildings, Transport, Energy, Environment & Health, Water, Management Consulting, and Architecture & Landscape. As The Partner for Sustainable Change, Ramboll enables stakeholders to realize their goals and navigate the transition to a more sustainable future. Ramboll is a member of the UN Global Compact.
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Offshore Decommissioning Market