UK government launches e-commerce 'oil portal' for producers

The UK Government has begun an 'oil portal,' an e-commerce system to help oil and gas companies to conduct all of their business electronically with regulators.

Sept. 28, 2001

2 min read

By the OGJ Online Staff

LONDON, Sept. 28 -- The UK Government has begun an "oil portal," an e-commerce system to help oil and gas companies to conduct all of their business electronically with regulators.

The system will be used for permits, reports, and such. The government plans to establish portals for other industrial sectors in the next 2 years.

UK Trade Sec. Patricia Hewitt unveiled the UK Oil Portal at the inauguration of the TotalFinaElf Elgin-Franklin field project.

Elgin-Franklin will supply 5.5% of UK condensate production and 4.5% gas production. The project has an expected life of 23 years and will support 260 permanent jobs and an estimated 400 jobs in the service sector.

Elgin and Franklin are the largest high-pressure, high-temperature fields in the UK North Sea. They are 5.5 km apart in 93 m of water in the Central Graben area. Each has its own wellhead platform with production from both being processed through a central production-utilities-quarters platform at Elgin.

Liquid condensate goes to shore via the existing BP Forties pipeline and on to Kinneil in Scotland for processing. Commercial quality gas is moved via the new Shearwater Elgin Area Line (SEAL) pipeline to the Shell-Esso terminal at Bacton where it is tied into the UK and continental delivery systems.

TotalFinaElf Exploration Ltd. is operator with 46.173% of the project through E.F.Oil and Gas Ltd., which is in turn held 77.5 % by Elf Exploration UK and 22.5% by Gaz de France. Other shareholders are AGIP (UK) Ltd. 13.867%, BG International (CNS) Ltd. 12.35%, AGIP Elgin-Franklin Ltd. 8%, Rhurgas UK Exploration and Production Ltd. 5.2%, Esso Exploration and Production UK Ltd. 4.375%, Texaco Britain Ltd. 3.9%, Dyas UK Ltd. 2.1875%, Oranje-Nassua UK Ltd. 2.1875%, and ARCO British Ltd. 1.76%.

In a separate development, Enterprise Oil U.K. Ltd. has taken its first delivery of oil from Foinaven field 190 km northwest of the Orkney Islands.

It acquired 10% of the field from Petrobras when it acquired the Brazilian company's North Sea portfolio in June. BP PLC is operator with 72% and Marathon Oil Co. has 18%.

Production of 20,000 b/d is stored in the 300,000 bbl FPSO Petrojarl IV before being taken by shuttle tanker to the Flotta Oil Terminal in Orkney. Gas production is expected to start next year via the existing Magnus pipeline.