MORE FIELDS DUE DEVELOPMENT IN U.K. NORTH SEA

FPSO Development (34879 bytes)

Britain's Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) has approved development of Teal, South Teal, Guillemot A, and Dawn fields, while plans have been disclosed for development of the MacCulloch prospect, all in the U.K. North Sea.

Shell U.K. Exploration & Production, operator for the Shell U.K. Ltd.-Esso Exploration & Production U.K. Ltd. combine, will develop Teal, South Teal, and Guillemot A using a floating production storage and offtake (FPSO) vessel.

Industry & Energy Minister Tim Eggar said it is the largest FPSO development in the North Sea. It also is the first time Shell Expro has adopted the FPSO approach for a full field development program in the Central North Sea.

Choice of a floater is the key to development of these relatively small prospects. Total development cost is estimated at 500 million ($750 million). Production start-up is slated for yearend 1996.

The FPSO will be a newly built turret moored vessel able to process 55,000 b/d of oil, store 850,000 bbl of oil, inject 85,000 b/d of water, and export 30 MMcfd of gas, which will be sent via the Fulmar export pipeline to St. Fergus, Scotland.

The vessel will be moored midway between Teal and Guillemot A in 300 ft of water. The three fields will be depleted using subsea wells tied back to manifolds and linked to the floater via flexible risers.

TEAL, GUILLEMOT RESERVES

Teal, a 1989 discovery on Block 21/25, holds estimated reserves of 37 million bbl of oil and 24 bcf of gas. The field will be depleted using two production and two water injection wells.

South Teal lies 4 miles south of Teal. A 1992 discovery, it has estimated reserves of 8 million bbl of oil and 5 bcf of gas. Two production wells will be drilled.

Guillemot A lies 9 miles south of Teal, straddling Blocks 21/25 and 21/30. Discovered in 1979, it holds estimated reserves of 47 million bbl of oil and 18 bcf of gas. Development plans call for four production and two water injection wells.

Four shuttle tankers, currently in use by Shell Expro in the Central North Sea, will receive the FPSO's oil.

Drilling of development wells is to begin in October.

CONTRACTS

Shell Expro let about 300 million ($450 million) in contracts prior to government approval.

Detailed design of the FPSO was awarded to Single Buoy Moorings Inc. (SBM), Fribourg, Switzerland, in January 1994. This was recently extended to include construction, procurement, and installation of the FPSO hull. Total contract value is 250 million ($375 million).

SBM let contract last October to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for construction of the hull for the 129,550 dwt vessel at its Nagasaki yard. Delivery of the FPSO to Shell Expro is due in late 1996.

Topsides design is under way by Stork Protech, Schiedam, Netherlands, under contract from SBM. Fabrication and installation contracts for turret and moorings systems are out for bid. AMEC Process & Energy Ltd. is to build and install topsides at its Tyneside, U.K., yard.

A 20 million ($30 million) contract for design and supply of subsea wellheads, Christmas trees, manifolds, and control systems went to Cooper (Great Britain) Ltd., Leeds. Delivery will begin in the third quarter.

McDermott Marine Constructors Ltd., Aberdeen, will design flow lines, umbilicals, risers, and tie-in to the Fulmar gas pipeline. Total contract value may increase to 45 million ($67.5 million) under a provision to extend McDermott's role to include fabrication and installation work.

The Guillemot C and D prospects, in Block 21/30 south of the Guillemot A reservoir, contain heavier crude oil than the A and B structures. So any C and D production is thought more likely to be routed through Gannet A facilities than through the FPSO.

Prospects for further use of the FPSO include development of the Guillemot B discovery near Guillemot A, the Mallard prospect, and other Central North Sea discoveries by Shell Expro.

DAWN, MACCULLOCH

Phillips Petroleum Co. (U.K.) Ltd. won DTI approval to develop Dawn gas field, which lies in southern gas basin Block 48/29. Dawn is 4.4 miles northwest of Phillips' Hewett platform.

The 16.2 million ($24.3 million) development will involve a single well subsea structure on the 49/29-9 Dawn discovery well. This will be connected by an 8 in. gas pipeline to Hewett platform and controlled by a hydraulic umbilical.

Dawn is due on stream in October 1995 at a rate of 32 MMcfd. Project Manager Brian King said Dawn will be the first U.K. offshore gas field to use ultrasonic gas metering on the host platform.

Meanwhile, Conoco (U.K.) Ltd. disclosed a plan to develop the Block 15/24b MacCulloch prospect using a floating production system with a target of first oil by summer 1996.

The company is considering options that include charter or construction of an FPSO. MacCulloch holds estimated reserves of 40 million bbl of oil. Plateau production is expected at 35,000 b/d, with field life predicted at 5 years.