Statoil ASA has commenced production drilling in Mariner heavy oil field from the East Shetland platform in the UK North Sea, 150 km east of the Shetland Isles.
Hookup and commissioning of the Mariner A platform will begin next summer. Production startup is expected in 2018. The field has estimated oil reserves of 250 million bbl, with projected average plateau production of 55,000 b/d, the firm says.
Noble Corp.’s Lloyd Noble jack up rig is positioned over the Mariner jacket, which was installed in 2015. The first production wells will be drilled through a well deck on the jacket. As many as five wells will be drilled before the platform topside modules arrive during mid-2017. In total, as many as 100 reservoir targets could be drilled over the lifetime of Mariner based on the current development strategy.
“Predrilling enables production to reach plateau levels more quickly after the start of operations on Mariner A,” said Hedda Felin, managing director of Statoil Production UK. “It will also be an important learning period for us in terms of understanding the reservoir and identifying potential efficiencies for future wells, with safety and the protection of the environment being our fundamental priorities.”
The rig contract was let to Noble in 2013 (OGJ Online, May 14, 2013). The contract award for integrated drilling and completion services was awarded to Schlumberger Ltd. in 2014 (OGJ Online, Dec. 19, 2014). The Mariner topside modules are under construction by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. in South Korea and sail away is expected in first-half 2017.
Statoil (UK) Ltd. is operator of Mariner with 65.11% equity. Partners are JX Nippon Exploration & Production (UK) Ltd. 20%, Siccar Point Energy 8.89%, and Dyas Mariner Ltd. 6%.