Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – TAQA Bratani has speeded up a long-term inspection, repair, and maintenance (IRM) program on its Cormorant Alpha platform in the UK northern North Sea.
This followstwo hydrocarbon releases in one of the platform’s legs in January and March. TAQA stresses that on both occasions there was no leak of hydrocarbons to the external environment.
Cormorant Alpha’s production remains shut-in, and it will take months to complete IRM work on the platform legs.
Leo Koot, managing director of TAQA’s UK oil and gas business, said: “Cormorant Alpha is a critical piece of infrastructure for the continued viability of the northern North Sea and this planned program of work will help extend its original design life… there is potentially 1 Bbbl of oil behind Cormorant Alpha.”
The platform handles 10,000 b/d of production from TAQA’s South Cormorant field, and is additionally the conduit for the Brent System pipeline, which transports around 90,000 b/d of oil, equivalent to 10% of the UK’s current oil production.
TheBrent System pipeline is unconnected to the pipework involved in the IRM program and therefore continues to operate normally. But the system may have to be closed down temporarily at some point as a precautionary basis because of the current work.
5/06/2013
