Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – BP has delivered first oil from the Clair Ridge project, the second-phase development of the Clair field, 75 km (47 mi) west of Shetland.
The field, discovered in 1977, contains an estimated 7 Bbbl.
BP commissioned two new, bridge-linked platforms and oil and gas export pipelines for the project at a total cost of more than £4.5 billion ($5.78 billion). The facilities are designed for 40 years of production.
Clair Ridge should recover around 640 MMbbl of oil with an eventual plateau output of 120,000 b/d.
Among the highlights of the development is the first offshore deployment of BP’s enhanced oil recovery technology,LoSal, which increases oil recovery from reservoirs through use of salinity water in water injection.
This should deliver up to 40 MMbbl more over the lifetime of the development.
New infrastructure includes a 5.5-km (3.4-mi), 22-in. oil export pipeline tying into the Clair Phase 1 export pipeline (oil from the field is exported to the Sullom Voe terminal on Shetland), and a 14.6-km (9-mi), 6-in. gas export pipeline connecting Clair Ridge to the West of Shetland Pipeline Systems which transports gas from fields in the area to Sullom Voe.
Another feature is what BP describes as an ‘advanced drill rig,’ with the drilling program likely to continue for over a decade.
There are 36 well slots, two of which are currently in used for the pre-drilled wells.
11/26/2018
