Sustainable Decommissioning of Oil Fields and Mines

The overall goal of the decommissioning
of oil fields and mines initiative (the
'Initiative') is, in keeping with World Bank
policy, to promote sustainable development by assisting
governments to undertake and engage in earlier and more
systematic, comprehensive, and responsive planning of the
decommissioning and closure of mining and oil and gas
production operations, as well as more effective
implementation. The target audience for this Initiative are
the governments of resource-rich countries, specifically the
regulatory authorities, institutions, and ministries
responsible for: administering mineral resource and oil and
gas extraction contracts; issuing environmental permits for
exploration, exploitation, and closure; and ensuring that
legal, financial and technical measures are in place to
address temporary shutdowns as well as complete closure and
decommissioning at the end of the productive life of oil and
gas and mining operations. This issues paper compiles
findings of the first step of the Initiative. It is
organized as: section one is an introduction. Section two
presents the key trends and challenges faced by both the
mining and oil and gas industries in decommissioning
operations that have reached the end of their life cycle.
Section three organizes findings and issues around what are
believed to represent core components of a practical,
effective in-country approach to addressing decommissioning
and closure needs; and section four identifies next steps.