The UK’s oil and gas decommissioning regime has long been seen to be in the front-line of petroleum operations around the world. But the established commercial and liability arrangements are now being tested by recent steps towards the government’s overall aim of maximising economic recoveries, the more innovative moves by the incumbents to passing on these late-life assets (with or without the liabilities) and the arrival of funds and private equity investors into the ownership of oil and gas facilities. For some, these changes in the operation and decommissioning of the UK’s oil and gas sector represent a bright new business opportunity alongside the necessary management of established liabilities. Although much of the current discussion relates to the UK and the North Sea, it is timely to consider how far these experiences might provide precedents for activities around the world.