Subsea engineering opportunity: International Market Insights Report series – nuclear decommissioning

This report is part of a series of reports considering the opportunities for the Scottish oil and gas (O&G) subsea supply chain in other subsea and related markets. This report focuses on the nuclear decommissioning sector. It considers the international activity of the sector including where there is current activity and where there is the potential for activity based on published targets and available resource and opportunity. The report also considers the particular synergies of the sector and the subsea O&G supply chain, and outlines key global markets of interest.

The research involved a desk review of existing evidence.

The report highlights that the worldwide nuclear decommissioning market is expected to be worth £250 billion in the decade to 2025. By 2025, it is estimated that over a third of the EU's currently operational reactors will be at the end of their lifecycle and in need of shutdown. The value of the European market could therefore be worth €60bn (£53bn) by 2025, based on 123 reactors being dismantled at a cost of €500m (£442m) each. Although not a subsea industry in its own right, it was found that nuclear decommissioning provides interesting opportunities for the subsea O&G supply chain, due to the nature of the work including dismantling operations in hazardous and underwater environments. The biggest area for synergies between the subsea O&G sector and nuclear decommissioning is through the removal of radioactive and contaminated material. Areas of greatest crossover include inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM), monitoring, remotely operated and autonomous vehicles, project management and HR, and HSE. Global markets with locations of interest were identified in Europe, Middle East and Africa; Asia and Pacific; and the Americas.

The report does not make any specific recommendations.