Today’s lower commodity price environment may have pushed up plans to put to rest mature fields deemed uneconomic for some operators.

But companies do not have to follow the status quo when it comes to the daunting task of decommissioning, according to the KPMG Global Energy Institute.

Instead of tackling the job alone, companies could sell the late-life assets before decommissioning the field, giving away related liability; sell the asset but remain responsible for decommissioning; or outsource such work to a specialty E&P firm.

“By becoming much more innovative about their approaches to selling assets, separating the question of decommissioning liability from the question of asset ownership, companies could help break through the current log jam in mature-asset sales, getting late-life assets into the hands of specialist owners who could operate them more effectively for longer,” Fergus Woodward, energy partner with KPMG, said in the report.

The report was released during a week that saw the WTI oil price dip to a six-year low—$42.23/bbl. The price could make decommissioning an attractive option, considering that KPMG pointed out that some think that as much as one-third of existing North Sea fields, for example, could become unprofitable at $50/bbl.

E&P companies have traditionally sold late-life assets and transferred decommissioning liability, but KPMG said that option is becoming more difficult. “This is because potential buyers are becoming choosier and field economics have often worsened,” according to the report.

Companies may have better luck if they sell the assets but remain responsible for decommissioning. This, according to KPMG, could attract more potential buyers.

Still, some E&Ps would rather pursue decommissioning themselves, working with suppliers and service companies. But this also comes with challenges that include a steep learning curve, often with costly mistakes, and unexpected problems with equipment, the report said.

“For all of these reasons, we could see the emergence of E&P firms that act as mature field [specialists] and decommissioning operators,” KPMG said.

Regardless of the approach chosen, KPMG said timing will be critical.

“We believe that although the default industry approach has been to delay decommissioning decision-making for as long as possible, we are now entering a period in which early movers could realize significant advantages,” KPMG said in the report.

That is partly because industry forecasts predict a large wave of decommissioning activity is expected in the early 2020s, which could send costs higher and increase supplier power, KPMG said. Plus, if the project slated for decommissioning utilizes shared infrastructure, fixed costs for other partners could rise, potentially jeopardizing the economics of those projects.

“In game theory terms, this situation could be viewed as a ‘prisoners’ dilemma,’ in which the fears about other players’ choices suddenly incentivize each player to move quickly and decisively, reversing the inertia that the industry has seen to date but potentially creating a suboptimal outcome,” the report said.

This could impact goals to maximize recovery, particularly in the U.K. where decommissioning costs in the North Sea could reach about US $78 billion over the next 30 years. The supergiant Brent Field is among the U.K. North Sea fields that will be decommissioned after having produced about 4 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

“We believe that E&P players operating in mature areas such as the UK North Sea should actively engage with the challenge of decommissioning today, bringing the same degree of management focus and strategic clarity they bring to decision-making on other fundamental portfolio and operational questions,” KPMG said.

Velda Addison can be reached at vaddison@hartenergy.com or via Twitter @veldaaddison.