While job cuts across the North Sea are a weekly occurrence, new projects are expected to bring new opportunities to Scotland and England as ageing assets, primarily in UK waters, come to the end of their lives.

There are an estimated 500-690 facilities reaching the end of their operational life over the next three decades, and industry body Decom North Sea recently predicted that costs for decommissioning North Sea offshore assets over the next decade will be around $A73 billion.

Decommissioning is a complicated, time-consuming process, and while most of the nine stages in the decommissioning job take place offshore, coastal communities are already skilling up to take advantage of the land-based component: asset disposal and recycling.

The disposal aspect covers only 1% of the total decommissioning spend, although 1% of the projected spend to 2040 is still $730 million to be shared across a finite number of disposal yards and facilities in the UK.

There is upside for the Norwegian and Danish North Sea sectors as well.

It's little wonder that amid a weak market for new North Sea developments a string of decommissioning contracts have be awarded in recent weeks.

Energy logistics provider Peterson has teamed up with Veolia to develop a $2 million decommissioning facility in Great Yarmouth.

Peterson was awarded around $140,000 from New Anglia LEP's flagship growing business fund, to help establish the new facility.

The centre, which is based at the port's outer harbour, will allow south North Sea operators to unload subsea equipment for dismantling and recycling while creating up to seven jobs.

The decommissioning facility allows the pair to provide the oil and gas industry an even larger portfolio of facilities across the whole North Sea.

Major North Sea player Acteon is also benefiting from decommissioning work.

Acteon's Offshore Installation Services business unit has just been awarded contract to decommission four subsea wells in the central North Sea from Antrim Energy, part of a 10 well campaign with Centrica Energy.

The work will include complete offshore and onshore project management, vessel charter, equipment and personnel.

"Since 1996, OIS has successfully completed more than 118 well decommissioning projects without a single lost-time incident," OIS president Rhodri Davies said.

"With Antrim Energy and Centrica Energy now involved in our 2015 subsea well abandonment campaign, OIS is currently decommissioning 10 subsea wells within the UK continental shelf.

"As an enabler of multi-operator campaigns, OIS values collaborations such as this in the decommissioning field and is well suited to working alongside progressive organisations such as Antrim and Centrica."

The wells will be abandoned using Acteon sister company Claxton's Suspended Well Abandonment Tool.

SWAT is a diverless, vessel-based approach and will be completed as part of a multi-operator campaign in mid-2015.

During phase one, SWAT will be deployed through the Island Valiant anchor-handling tug's moon pool to set cement plugs in the bore and across all the casing annuli.

The second phase will use an abrasive severance system for the cutting of the wells and sequential removal from the seabed.

OIS has planned and executed 17 campaigns in the North Sea since 1996.

The OIS business model enables operators to share project costs and provides a cost-efficient way to decommission suspended wells and comply with UK oil and gas legislation.

Aberdeen-headquartered behavioural change consultancy Optimus Seventh Generation is another concern getting in on the action.

It has secured its first decommissioning contract in a six figure agreement with a major North Sea operator.

The four-month contract will see OSG supply induction training and back to back health and safety advisors to support the safe decommissioning of a floating production, storage and offloading vessel in the North Sea.

"Breaking into a new sector truly demonstrates that the company's growth plan is working, with decommissioning having always been a key target for us," OSG partner Mark Walker said.

"The sector is full of opportunity in the current climate where collaboration is key between operators, the supply chain and, more pertinent than ever right now, specialist safety professionals."

OSG will provide training to all contractors through its Induction Plus program.

The four hour induction is aimed at projects experiencing a large influx of new, often subcontracted, labour during decommissioning and construction projects or shutdowns.

It educates the attendees on the company's expectations with respect to compliance with the company's safety rules, alongside a motivational element to engage the project team with why compliance is important and how they can raise their awareness of the hazards specific to the asset.

"Diversifying in to new sectors is essential in the current climate. By focusing on meeting client needs during a challenging period for the oil and gas industry we hope to help clients implement significant behavioural change, and deliver operational excellence globally," Walker said.

The company also has offices in Brazil and Perth, Australia.

Inspection, repair and maintenance company Harkand, has just begun decommissioning work in the UK Continental Shelf supporting Maersk Oil's work in the Leadon field.

Earlier this year, the IRM firm secured a multi-million pound 12-month frame agreement with Maersk for the provision of its two dive support vessels, the Harkand Da Vinci and Harkand Atlantis, as well as supporting onshore and offshore personnel.

The new award will see Harkand deliver project management and engineering services to the Danish-owned oil and gas company around their drill rig program for subsea well plug and abandonment.

The scope of work which is being undertaken by the Harkand Atlantis includes barrier testing at 13 trees, removal of production and gas lift spools at trees and towhead ends along with power and control jumpers and mattress recovery. The works also involves flooding and disconnection of a four-inch gas import flowline.

"Removal of subsea infrastructure can be challenging and this contract reflects our well-established and successful track record for decommissioning activities such as inspection and survey, valve operations, mattress removal, pipeline cutting and recovery," Harkand Europe CEO David Kerr said.

Harkand provides offshore vessels, ROVs, diving, survey services, project management and engineering to the oil and gas and renewables industries.