TWO MAJOR U.K. NORTH SEA PROJECTS APPROVED

The U.K. Department of Energy has approved two major development projects in the U.K. North Sea.

Chevron U.K. Ltd. has a green light for a 650 million ($1.1 billion) first phase development of 400 million bbl Alba field 130 miles northeast of Aberdeen on Block 16/26.

And an Amoco (U.K.) Exploration Co. group has permission to proceed with a 1 billion ($1.7 billion) development of Everest and Lomond gas fields in Quadrants 22 and 23 and the central area transmission systems (CATS), a 255 mile gas pipeline, to northeastern England.

CHEVRON PROJECT

First phase Alba development calls for installation of a platform and a floating storage unit (FSU) in the northern part of the field in 1993.

Production is to begin in January 1994 and build rapidly to a peak of 60,00070,000 b/d through the first custom built FSU seen in the U.K. North Sea.

In the second phase, Chevron will install a second platform in the southern part of the field 5 years later. The type of facility for the second phase will be determined by experience with first phase production.

Alba crude has a gravity of 20, lower than any crude produced commercially in the U.K. North Sea thus far. Chevron further noted the shallow Eocene reservoir entails unconsolidated sands mostly underlain by water. Dealing with these features will require high angle and horizontal drilling to reach all the northern part of the reservoir and limit water production, gravel packing of all wells, and electric submersible pumps.

Partners in the Alba project are Chevron, Amerada Hess Ltd., Aran Energy Exploration Ltd., Conoco Petroleum (Alba) Ltd., Conoco (U.K.) Ltd., Fina Petroleum Development Ltd., Oryx U.K. Energy Co, Santa Fe Exploration (U.K.) Ltd., and Unilon Oil Exploration/Baytrust Oil Explorations Ltd.

AMOCO PROJECT

Amoco's Everest field underlies Blocks 22/9, 22/10a, and 22/14a and its Lomond field Block 23/21.

Plans call for installation of a production and compression platform each in Lomond and the northern portion of Everest field and a riser platform in Everest.

The 36 in. CATS system will extend from the riser platform to Teesside, U.K., where an onshore terminal is being constructed about 5 miles inland from pipeline landfall.

In the first phase the terminal will entail only a receiving and metering facility, with all the gas taken by a 1.75 billion kw, combined cycle, cogeneration power plant under construction by Teesside Power Ltd., a joint venture of Enron Corp., ICI Chemicals & Polymers Ltd., and four regional electric power companies.

Amoco said sufficient land will be available for future expansion to allow liquids extraction and export and, if needed, gas sweetening.

Everest and Lomond will deliver about 300 MMcfd to the power plant, but the line will have a capacity of 1.4 bcfd. Amoco said spare capacity in the line will allow CATS to act as a transportation system for gas fields awaiting development in the Central North Sea. Several subsea tees will be included on the CATS line to allow other fields to be tied into the system.

Partners in the Lomond field are Amoco, Gas Council (Exploration) Ltd., Amerada Hess Ltd., and BG North Sea Holdings Ltd. Partners in Everest field include Phillips Petroleum Co. U.K. Ltd., Fina Exploration Ltd., and Agip (U.K.) Ltd., in addition to Lomond partners. All field partners have holdings in the CATS system.