Loading at sea could handle 750,000 b/d or 30% of U.K. offshore oil production in 1998, a 20% gain from today's total.
That's the prediction of Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd., Edinburgh, which says a considerable volume of oil forecast to go on stream in the late 1990s will come from offshore areas remote from production infrastructure.
Four U.K. projects to develop five fields using offshore loading are under way.
Bleneim and Fife fields are being developed by floating production, storage, and offloading vessels served by shuttle tankers. Harding field will be developed using a gravity base structure with 500,000 bbl oil storage, feeding two dedicated shuttle tankers.
Oil from Douglas and Lennox fields, part of the Liverpool Bay development in the U.K. Irish Sea, will use dedicated shuttle tankers loading either from a platform or a buoy.
POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT
Among potential developments, Nevis, Tay, and Buckland fields are beryl to be developed as satellites of Bel field, where tanker loading is under way. Guillemot may be a satellite development of Gannet field.
Wood Mackenzie said Teal and Mallard fields are on the outer limits of feasibility for subsea tieback to mature fields, although production vessels are being studied.
West of Shetland field developments are likely to use offshore loading in the early years. Pipeline exports to Sullom Voe or Flotta terminal is likely in the longer term.
Captain field holds 23 gravity, waxy oil, Wood Mackenzie said, and so is likely to be developed like Harding, using a jack up platform mounted on a gravity base with storage.
"The attractions of early production and minimized capital expenditure favor offshore loading, systems," Wood Mackenzie said.
"However, with unfavorable climatic conditions West of Shetland coupled with heightened environmental and safety awareness following the Braer (tanker spill) incident, the option of using shuttle tankers in the long term may not be politically viable.
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