Aquaterra Energy, a provider of products and services for well access and offshore developments, and James Fisher and Sons, a global provider of specialist marine and energy solutions, have formed a strategic global partnership to streamline the delivery of offshore decommissioning
The collaboration will provide operators with a single, integrated route to plan and execute well abandonment and infrastructure removal programmes more efficiently, with fewer interfaces and greater execution certainty.
Under the partnership, Aquaterra Energy is leading front-end engineering and well access solutions, while James Fisher is delivering subsea operations and offshore execution expertise.
The two offer a more coordinated alternative to traditional decommissioning models, connecting early planning, engineering, well access, and offshore execution under a clearer delivery framework. This provides operators fewer handovers, stronger accountability, and greater certainty from initial scope development through to execution, while maintaining the flexibility to adapt as project requirements evolve.
The collaboration will operate globally, initially focusing on the North Sea, APAC, and the Middle East, regions where several offshore wells and infrastructure are approaching permanent abandonment. In the UK Continental Shelf alone, the North Sea Transition Authority reports that 153 wells have passed decommissioning consent deadlines, with £44 billion still to be spent on decommissioning.
In Australia, government modelling predicts offshore decommissioning liabilities could reach £48 billion over the next 30 to 50 years and globally, more than 2,500 offshore structures are expected to require decommissioning by 2040. This growing workload is increasing the demand for more efficient delivery models.
Matt Marcantonio, head of Engineering at Aquaterra Energy, said, “Decommissioning programmes are increasingly moving away from simple, isolated scopes. The next generation of projects will require tight engineering control, early integration and the ability to adapt quickly as conditions change. By aligning our expertise with James Fisher from the outset, we can shape more efficient scopes, prevent downstream redesign and ultimately reduce offshore duration. We see this as a way to give operators the confidence to take on decommissioning programmes that are becoming more technically demanding and commercially pressured, while keeping the agility needed to respond as projects evolve.”
Mark Stephen, product line director, Decommissioning & CFE at James Fisher Energy, said, “What operators are looking for now is delivery confidence, predictable execution, fewer interfaces and teams who already understand how to work together. By combining our subsea operations capability with Aquaterra Energy’s early engineering and well access expertise, we can remove many of the common friction points that slow projects down offshore. This model gives operators a scalable, field-proven approach that directly supports safer, more efficient execution as global decommissioning activity accelerates.”
The partnership will operate on a project-by-project basis, with team composition determined by scope, including the use of cross-trained crews to minimise the number of people offshore and lower overall exposure to risk. Each company remains independent, working within an agreed framework to ensure early collaboration and aligned delivery. The partners are already engaging with operators on upcoming decommissioning opportunities across multiple regions.
