Occidental Petroleum (Caledonia) Ltd. has let three contracts in preparation for development of Saltire oil field, formerly named East Piper, in the U.K. North Sea.
Oxy plans to seek formal approval for the 100 million bbl Saltire development project from the U.K. Department of Energy later this year.
Elsewhere, Amoco Norway will soon become the first western operator to put a Soviet rig to work in the North Sea.
The company signed a contract for use of the U.S.S.R.'s Kolskaya jack up for a development program in Hod field in the Norwegian sector.
SALTIRE DEVELOPMENT
Oxy's 350 million ($577.5 million) Saltire project involves a 30,000 metric ton, four legged production platform to handle 30,000 b/d of crude and 65 MMcfd of gas from 24 wells. Production is to start in 1992.
Oxy awarded advance contracts to ensure availability of yard capacity and equipment.
A contract for the jacket and piles went to McDermott Scotland Ltd. Press Offshore Ltd. will build the production/utilities/drilling deck and the drilling substructure, skid base, and flare stack, while Heeremac VOF will handle platform installation.
Saltire oil will move to Piper field, 4 miles away, for shipment through the existing pipeline system to Flotta terminal in the Orkney Islands.
Oxy won approval for redevelopment of Piper field at the end of last year. The field's 140,000 b/d platform is to go on stream in October 1992 at 75,000 b/d.
The company also is preparing for early development of the Chanter and South Piper satellite fields.
Partners in Saltire are Oxy, Texaco Britain Ltd., Lasmo North Sea plc, and Union Texas Petroleum Ltd.
SOVIET JACK UP
Kolskaya, a harsh environment rig built by Rauma Repola of Finland in 1985, will start a program of five Hod development wells for Amoco in August. That will follow modifications in Stavanger to meet Norwegian regulations and Amoco's requirements.
The rig is under charter to Seatec of Norway.
It currently is in Tromso, northern Norway, waiting on weather after it went adrift in a storm while under tow from Murmansk in northern Russia. The rig drifted to within 1/2 mile of the Norwegian coast before it was brought under control.
It has been working in the western Barents Sea during the summer and has been stacked during the winter.
Amoco said it chose the Soviet rig because it met technical specifications, it was available when needed, and was offered at a competitive price. When drilling starts the rig will have a mainly Norwegian crew with a single Soviet representative.
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