Drive your career forward with enhanced skills and expertise in decommissioning.
As UK and other offshore basins mature, decommissioning offshore infrastructure is creating new challenges for government and industry – and new career opportunities.
- Gain the knowledge and expertise to address the regulatory aspects of decommissioning.
- Cover international, domestic and comparative law.
- Attain sought-after expertise to advance your career in this rapidly developing sector.
Join a flexible online course that fits around full-time work, and study with a top UK law school at the heart of the European energy sector.
Who is this online decommissioning course for?
This is not just a course for lawyers. Understanding the legal aspects of decommissioning is important for anyone involved in the process.
This distance-learning course is valuable learning for:
- lawyers, engineers, professionals working in the decommissioning field, and those involved in environmental impact assessments.

Build credits towards a Masters degree
This online course is part of:
You can use the credits you earn on this short course towards either of these postgraduate qualifications.
What you’ll study
This online decommissioning course focuses on the strategic decisions facing government and industry when offshore installations reach the end of their productive life.
The offshore decommissioning process in the North Sea area is governed by the Oslo Paris Convention (OSPAR), with each country contributing its own internal legislation regarding the decommissioning process and the taxation applied to it.
You’ll closely examine OSPAR and how this instrument of international law flows into UK law, the policy and practice of oil companies, and how we implement it.
Of course, it’s not just the UK that’s facing issues of decommissioning, other states are too – and many of them are dealing with this issue in a radically different way. So, you’ll be engaging in comparative study and questioning what this area of law should look like.
OSPAR is noticeably different from most other international law devices. Is it better, is it worse? Is the UK system over-inclusive or the perfect model that should be implemented elsewhere? That’s fundamentally what this course is all about.
Why study Decommissioning online with the University of Aberdeen?

2nd in UK for student satisfaction
Our Law School ranks 2nd in the UK for Overall Student Satisfaction (National Student Survey 2021).

Decommissioning pioneers
Home to the National Decommissioning Centre, we’re the first university in the world to offer a Masters in Decommissioning.
Visit the Decommissioning Centre website
20% alumni discount
University of Aberdeen alumni get 20% off this online course.
How you’ll study
This distance-learning decommissioning course is delivered part-time, 100% online. You can study with us anywhere in the world and manage your own study hours to suit you.
This course is taught at Masters level.
Online learning
Your teaching is delivered through MyAberdeen, our online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). It holds all the materials, tools and support you’ll need in your studies. Take a look around MyAberdeen.
You can access your learning materials on computer, smartphone and laptop, 24 hours a day. You’ll find a range of resources at your fingertips, including:
- online lectures
- videos
- reading materials
- case studies
- projects
- the online resources of our award-winning Sir Duncan Rice Library and the Law Library
- discussion boards with colleagues and tutors.
Your tutors
You’ll learn from highly experienced lawyers and benefit from their depth of experience working within the energy sector in Aberdeen, nationally, and globally.
Your course coordinator

Professor John Paterson
John is Chair in Law at the University and is co-founder of our Centre for Energy Law. His teaching and research have taken him all over the world, covering systems theory, the regulation of risk, governance in the EU, corporate governance and energy law. John has also provided specialist training in oil and gas law and corporate governance for the corporate sector, expert advice in international arbitration, and consultancy to international organisations.
View John’s profileOnline learning in the School of Law
Advocates share their experiences of working while studying law online with us.
Where this will take you
Towards a Masters
You’ll earn 15 credits at Masters level (SCQF Level 11) with this course. You can use these credits towards our:

Masters in Decommissioning
Join the world’s first and only accredited online Masters degree in decommissioning oil rigs, platforms and offshore structures.
View MSc Decommissioning
LLM in Oil and Gas Law
Our LLM in Oil and Gas Law has been producing outstanding energy lawyers for over a decade. Join the flexible, online version of this LLM and earn your Masters part-time, without taking a career break.
View LLM Oil and Gas LawBuild your learning
We offer a wide range of specialist online Law and Energy short courses you can use to build your skills.
Many are part of existing Masters degrees and can be used to build up credits towards postgraduate qualifications.
Careers
Decommissioning is now a major industry and creating new career paths all over the globe.
This course has been developed to enhance your career prospects in this sector. It will deliver career benefits for:
- graduate lawyers working in, or keen to move into, the oil and gas sector
- any professional working in decommissioning who needs to understand the legal framework.
Your employer or professional institute may recognise this course for Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Talk to your employer or institute to find out more.

Free careers advice
We’ll help you explore your career potential and connect with job opportunities around the world.
You can access our free careers service while you study.
From interview training to CV clinics, we’re here with tailored, impartial and professional advice.
This course has no formal entry requirements. You decide if it’s suitable for you.
The course is delivered at Masters level. At this level, you’d usually have at least:
- a 2:1 (upper-second-class) Law degree
- or relevant work experience that supports this level of study.
Apply for this course