Two U.K. North Sea field projects have made steps toward development with big hitters Shell moving forward with the Fram Field and Chevron progressing with the Captain project.

Shell has handed in an environmental statement for its field development plan on the Fram gas and condensate field in the U.K. Central North Sea to the U.K. government. In the environmental statement, Shell said it plans to develop the Fram Field as a subsea tieback, using the existing Starling infrastructure, to the Shearwater platform. Fram is located in blocks 29/3a, 29/4c, 29/8a and 29/9c.

The Shearwater Field is a HP/HT reservoir developed with a normally manned integrated process, utilities and quarters platform, which is bridge linked to a wellhead platform. Shell operates Shearwater with partner ExxonMobil.

A 30-day public consultation period for the Fram environmental statement ends Nov. 24.

Shell plans to develop Fram with two horizontal wells in the Drill Center East area. Produced fluids will be transported via a new flowline to the existing Starling manifold about 15 km (9 miles), comingled with Starling production fluids and transported via existing infrastructure to the Shearwater platform 33 km (21 miles) away.

Fluids from the Shearwater platform are exported through the Shearwater Elgin Area Line and Forties Pipeline System pipelines. No modifications are required to the Shearwater topsides processing equipment.

Under the development plan, drilling operations are expected to start in first-quarter 2019, and first production is expected in second-quarter 2020.

In addition, Dana Petroleum plans to develop its Arran Field as a subsea tieback to the Shearwater platform, Shell said in the environmental statement. Dana is planning to submit an environmental statement for the Arran Field in fourth-quarter 2017. Production is scheduled to start in 2021.

Chevron Makes UK Captain FID

U.S. player Chevron has made a final investment decision (FID) to push ahead with Phase 1 of the Captain EOR project in the U.K. North Sea.

Chevron North Sea operates the Captain Field, which is located about 109 km (68 miles) north of Aberdeen. The Captain EOR project is expected to increase the overall recovery rate from the field by using polymer technology, according to Chevron North Sea.

Phase 1 of the EOR project, which follows several EOR pilot programs at Captain, is an expansion within the existing Captain platform area of the field with up to six long-reach horizontal injection wells.

“Sanctioning Stage 1 EOR at Captain is an important milestone in the development of the technology, which we believe will improve the recovery rate from older fields and help extend the life of assets,” said Greta Lydecker, managing director of Chevron Upstream Europe. “The application of advanced EOR technology in the North Sea supports the U.K. government’s strategy of maximizing economic recovery of its offshore energy resource, and this is in direct alignment with Chevron Upstream’s strategy of extracting value from our existing asset base.”

Eric Marston, area manager for the U.K.’s Oil & Gas Authority, said, “Polymer EOR has the potential to increase recovery, extend field life and stimulate field redevelopments, so I’m very pleased to see the Captain EOR project move forward, helping maximize recovery from this field.”

—Steve Hamlen

Offshore