DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TAKING SHAPE OFF THE U.K.

Britain's Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) has awarded a North Sea exploration license to Unocal U.K. Ltd. before other licenses are handed out in the U.K.'s 16th offshore round.

The award reflects a plan to help postpone abandonment of Unocal's Heather oil field.

Also in the U.K. North Sea, a group led by Agip (U.K.) received a permit to develop Thelma and Southeast Thelma oil fields in Block 16/17, known as the T block.

In addition, BHP Petroleum Ltd., formerly Hamilton Oil Co. Ltd., has scheduled a season of platform and oil storage installation as part of its Liverpool Bay development in the U.K. share of the Irish Sea.

UNOCAL LICENSE

Unocal, Heather field operator, received a license for Block 2/4, which contains the West Heather prospect offsetting Heather field in Block 2/5.

Announcing the award, Richard Page, junior energy minister, said, "I have decided to award this license before other awards to enable Unocal and partners to evaluate the West Heather prospect. If the consortium is successful in proving this prospect, abandonment of Heather platform could be deferred until the end of the century."

Earlier this year Unocal reported shut down of Heather had been deferred until late 1996 due to use of new technology during production.

At one time, Heather was believed likely to be the first major steel platform abandoned in the U.K. North Sea (OGJ, Mar. 20, p. 33).

A Unocal official said the company will acquire 120 sq km of 3D seismic data, half on Block 2/4 and half on Block 2/5, beginning in May or June.

Unocal has no commitment or firm plans to drill its new block

"West Heather is a very complex structure," the official said, "so we are not overly excited."

DTI announced in late March that half of the 164 blocks on offer under the 16th round had received applications. Sixty of the blocks applied for lie in the West of Shetland exploration hotspot.

A DTI official said awards for West of Shetland licenses are likely to be announced this month to allow fast track exploration.The rest are likely to be awarded during the summer.

THELMA DEVELOPMENT

The Agip group's development plan in Block 16/17 calls for a subsea production structure and manifold to house one horizontal producer for Thelma field and four convention producers for Southeast Thelma field.

The overlapping fields lie about 7 miles south of Tiffany field, also part of the T block complex, in 400 ft of water.

Production is to get under way in fourth quarter 1996 at an initial rate of 12,000 b/d, rising to 25,000 b/d 1 year later.

Production will be tied back to the Tiffany platform for processing and export through tie-ins for oil to the Brae Forties line and for gas to the intrafield line between North and South Brae fields.

Installation of a predrilling template is scheduled for second quarter 1995. Three production wells will be drilled before installation in mid-1996 of the production structure, manifold, flow lines, and umbilicals to Tiffany

Agip holds a 47.48% interest in the Thelma fields. Its partners are Fina Exploration Ltd. 30% and Murphy Petroleum Ltd. and LL&E (U.K.) Ltd. 11.26% each.

LIVERPOOL BAY

BHP's 1 billion ($1.5 billion) program in Liverpool Bay will develop Douglas, Hamilton, and North Hamilton fields in Block 110/13 and Lennox field in Block 110/15. Combined reserves are 150-200 million bbl of oil and 1.2 tcf of gas.

The Lennox unmanned satellite platform was installed last month by the Stanislav Udin heavy lift vessel. The jacket weighs 496 metric tons and the topsides 1,065 metric tons.

BHP will install a wellhead platform in the central Douglas field complex. The structure was towed away from the Nigg, Scotland, yard of Highland Fabricators Ltd. on Apr. 17.

BHP this month expects to install: an unmanned satellite platform in Hamilton field and one in North Hamilton, a drilling platform jacket in Douglas field, and a. pipeline end manifold for the Douglas field oil storage barge.

In July, the Liverpool Bay Pioneer accommodation platform will be installed in Douglas field. This three legged jack up platform was formerly the Morecambe Flame drilling rig, currently being converted by Consafe Engineering (U.K.) Ltd. at Greenock, Scotland.

The deck for the Douglas drilling platform is expected to be installed in August.

A catenary anchor leg rigid arm mooring unit for the barge will be connected to the pipeline end manifold in autumn.

The 870,000 bbl capacity oil storage barge, being built in Brazil, is due in the field about the same time.

Oil production is to start in November, while gas production is due to start in December. Oil will be exported by offshore loading, while gas will supply a power generating plant (OGJ, Nov. 1, 1993, p. 34).

GAS PROCESSING PLANT

Meanwhile Powergen plc, the power generator that agreed to buy Liverpool Bay gas, let a turnkey contract to Costain Oil, Gas & Process Ltd., London, for a 200 MMcfd gas processing plant.

The 40 million ($60 million) plant is expected on stream by late 1996. It will be built alongside Powergen's gas fired power plant at Connah's Quay, North Wales.

Costain said the processing unit will prepare Liverpool Bay gas to meet British Gas plc transmission specifications. This involves pretreatment, cryogenic rejection of nitrogen, and sales gas compression.