DEVELOPING “small pools” of oil and gas in the North Sea and beyond could yield more than three billion barrels of oil and give the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) a new lease of life, according to an industry expert.
Peter Blake, chairman of the National Subsea Research Initiative (NSRI) and subsea systems manager for Chevron’s UK Energy Technology company, was speaking ahead of an initiative to help oil companies exploit the potential of the untapped pools in the North Sea and beyond.
NSRI – the technology arm of Subsea UK, the body for the UK’s subsea sector – is planning a workshop at next month’s Subsea Expo 2017 in Aberdeen to help the industry adopt a collaborative app-roach to finding economically viable ways to develop marginal oil fields.
Small pools are defined as containing oil and gas reserves of fewer than 50 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE), and the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has said there are around 350 unsanctioned discoveries in the UKI Continental Shelf (UKCS) containing more than three billion BOE. Most of the pools are close to existing infrastructure, but some are stranded and will require novel, standalone facilities. NSRI said a host of industry experts would showcase their involvement at the event, which would offer a platform to highlight the work that has already been done to maximise economic recovery from small pool developments across the UKCS.
Blake said: “These discoveries, while economically challenged, represent a significant potential to extend the economic life of the basin.
“There are myriad challenges, from stranded pools distant from infrastructure, to fluids incompatible with potential hosts and complex ownership structures. However, what is common to them all is that they need new ways of thinking, the application of new technologies and greater collaboration to develop economic solutions.
“To safeguard our industry we need to kickstart these developments.
“Often, conventional solutions prove too costly or unsuitable for marginal fields, so smarter engineering combined with better ways to manage technical and economic risk is required.
“If the subsea industry can rise to this challenge of economically tapping into these pools, the North Sea could have a whole new lease of life.”
The OGA’s head of technology, Carlo Procaccini, added: “Following an extensive mapping exercise, we now know exactly where these small pools are located and we are working with NSRI and others to change the existing industry paradigms to unlock their potential.
“Technology development is key to small pools cost reduction, from reducing the cost of development wells to designing optimised subsea infrastructure and tie-backs to existing host facilities or efficient standalone concepts.
“Exploited successfully, the recoverable oil and gas held in small pools offer a significant MER UK oppor- tunity and could represent a new chapter for the UKCS.”
Blake will chair the session, at which he will welcome speakers from the OGA, Oil and Gas UK, EnQuest, the Oil and Gas Technology Centre, Technip and Subsea 7.
The presentations will look at activity currently under way to unlock the potential value of small pools, as well as highlight the approach and mind-set required to progress economically viable marginal fields.
“We need the industry to embrace the size of the prize and come up with modern, cost-effective approaches to safely exploit marginal and stranded fields,” Blake added.
“We hope the session will help to break down some of the barriers and identify ways to help speed up the development of fit-for-purpose solutions which will go some way in securing the long-term future of the industry in the UK North Sea.”
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