Amerada plans redevelopment of Angus field in North Sea

April 25, 2001
The UK Department of Trade and Industry Tuesday cleared Amerada Hess Inc.'s plan to breathe new life into decommissioned North Sea Angus field via a subsea tieback to the Uisge Gorm floating production, storage and offloading vessel. Angus will be the first decommissioned field on the UK Continental Shelf to be redeveloped.


By the OGJ Online Staff

LONDON, Apr. 25 -- The UK Department of Trade and Industry Tuesday cleared Amerada Hess Inc.'s plan to breathe new life into decommissioned North Sea Angus field via a subsea tieback to the Uisge Gorm floating production, storage and offloading vessel.

Angus will be the first nonproducing field on the UK Continental Shelf to be redeveloped.

Amerada plans to use a single gas lifted well, an 8-in. production flowline, and a 3-in. gas lift line to tie Angus back the 18-km to the Bluewater Services Ltd.-operated FPSO, which is producing the nearby Fire, Fergus, and Flora developments.

Drilling has started on Angus using the Glomar Arctic IV rig, said Amerada, with 5,000 b/d scheduled for the end of the third quarter. The company estimates extra proven reserves of 4 million bbl will be tapped through the redevelopment plan.

"Amerada sees this contribution to the investment in the North Sea, and being able to prolong the life of the field to secure jobs, as an important factor in addressing the challenges we face in a mature province," said Amerada's Managing Director Nick Fairbrother.

UK Minster of Energy Peter Hain called Angus "an example of the innovative approach to the development of small satellite field that will help secure the future of the North Sea."

He added that the Pilot "satellite accelerator" initiative -- the government-industry scheme launched by former minister for energy Helen Liddell with the aim of developing 300 North Sea discoveries that are marginal, technically challenging, or commercial unviable -- "should lead to more satellite field developments."

Angus, on central North Sea Blocks 31/26a and 31/21, came on stream in December 1991 and produced through to June 1993 via two subsea wells connected to the Petrojarl FPSO. At the time, Angus was both the smallest stand-alone field on the UK continental shelf, producing a total 12 million bbl, and the first full development to use an FPSO.

Amerada has 85% of the Angus development and Premier Oil Exploration Ltd. 15%.