RockRose takes first decommissioning steps for North Sea Brae Bravo platform

Offshore staff

LONDON – RockRose Energy has de-manned the Brae Bravo platform in the UK central North Sea, after earlier disconnecting it from the remaining Brae field facilities.

The company, which acquired operatorship from Marathon Oil, expects to remove the platform during 2021.

During 4Q 2019, RockRose plans to spud the first of two subsea development wells on West Brae.

Currently the partners in East Brae and the Braemar satellite are assessing possibilities for extending the lives of these fields by at least two years.

Elsewhere in this region, the company is a partner in Shell-operated Arran-Shearwater tieback. Development costs have come down due to lower well and subsea costs and Shell is working on further cost reductions in the run-up to first gas in 2021.

In mid-2020, the Repsol-Sinopec-led partnership should take a final investment decision on the Tain oilfield project, a tieback to the FPSO Bleo Holm. The Blake life extension project (an existing tieback) is progressing well and the planned infill drilling campaign should deliver first oil during the first half of 2021.

RockRose is a participant in various development projects in the Dutch North Sea.

Petrogas and its partners have successfully appraised the A15 and B10 discoveries in the A/B block, with reservoir thickness and properties either in line with or better than prognosed.

They expect to take a decision on a development in mid-2020.

The TAQA-operated P15/18 and Rijn facilities underwent a four-month unplanned shutdown earlier this year due mainly to corrosion under the high-pressure system insulation.

During the shutdown, TAQA replaced two electrical submersible pumps at Rijn, allowing for higher production rates. A further shutdown for scheduled maintenance is under way.

The Total-operated J3C unit performed steadily, although the host Markham gas platform, operated by Spirit Energy, looks set to cease production in late 2019.

09/25/2019