BP Begins Production at the Seagull Field in the North Sea
British BP Plc has begun production at the Seagull oil and gas field in the British sector of the North Sea.
The company’s press service reported this on November 6, 2023.
Seagull deposit
- is being developed in conjunction with the Central Process Facility (CPF) that bp operates as part of the Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) in the central North Sea, approximately 140 miles east of Aberdeen,
– Seagull is the 1st field to connect to ETAP in the last 20 years; - The field is developed using 4 wells;
- shelf production is expected to be approximately 50 thousand boe/d;
- produced oil will be exported via the Forties pipeline system to Grangemouth in central Scotland, and natural gas to Teesside via the Central Area Transmission system;
- project partners:
– Neptune Energy:
– owns 35% shares,
– operated the field at the stage of development, drilling wells and installing underwater production systems,
– BP:
– owns a 50% share,
– the company manages the production phase of development;
– JAPEX holds the remaining 15% interest.
Theses from BP North Sea Senior Vice President D. Reiter:
- BP has operated safely in the North Sea for almost 60 years, providing a reliable flow of energy, supporting thousands of jobs and a world-class supply chain;
- We plan to continue to do this by investing in our existing oil and gas infrastructure, such as ETAP, which has been the cornerstone of our North Sea portfolio for 25 years;
- The launch of Seagull is a fantastic milestone and demonstrates how BP is investing in a modern energy system and, at the same time, in the energy transition.
ETAP Project
Was launched in July 1998.
It was expected to have a service life of 20-25 years, with decommissioning expected to begin in 2023.
According to BP, an investment of US$1 billion in 2015 secured the future of the project until the 2030s.
BP operates all fields linked to the ETAP CPF: Machar, Madoes, Mirren, Monan, Marnock, Mungo and Seagull.
In September 2023, the company received government and regulatory approval to link the Murlach field to the ETAP CPF.
Work is expected to begin in 2025.
There are currently 284 fields in development in the UK North Sea, and the total production forecast until 2050 is estimated at 5.25 billion barrels per day.
On October 30, 2023, it became known that the British oil and gas regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), had issued 27 new licenses for the exploration and production of hydrocarbons in the North Sea.
