BG Group, BP, and Amerada Hess have announced that the £270 million Juno project – the second phase of the Easington Catchment Area (ECA) development off the Yorkshire coast in the North Sea – started production on Dec. 31, with the flow of gas from the Whittle field. This was followed on Jan. 2 by first gas from Wollaston and on Jan. 7 by first gas from Minerva. First gas from Apollo is expected in April.
The four Juno fields lie in the southern gas basin off Humberside and contain a pre-development estimate of 300 bcf of gross recoverable reserves. According to the ramp-up program, three more Minerva wells and two Apollo wells are scheduled to begin production by 3Q 2003.
BG, with 65%, operates Minerva and Apollo, and Amerada Hess holds the remaining 35%.The Apollo subsea wells are tied back to a not normally manned Minerva platform. There the fluids from the two fields are co-mingled for export to the BG-operated ECA riser tower and then into the BP pipeline system from Cleeton to Dimlington.
BP, operates Woolaston and Whittle with 35.5%, BG 30.8%, and Amerada Hess 33.7% . The fields have been developed through subsea wells and tied back via a manifold and pipeline to the ECA riser tower where they are co-mingled with production from Minerva, and later Apollo, and from the ECA phase one fields Neptune and Mercury.
A joint team from the three partner companies manages the Juno development. By using BP's existing Cleeton to Dimlington terminal export infrastructure, the project, together with the ECA phase one development, has been accelerated.
"Juno owes its success to the innovative and collaborative approach to project management undertaken by each of the partner companies," said Jon Wormley, BG executive vice president. "It also provides a template for the future extension of North Sea production by using existing infrastructure, minimizing costs, and sharing expertise."
The Minerva platform has been built to allow for future phased developments. The BG-operated Artemis gas discovery, 10 km from Minerva, is being appraised. Last May, the jackup Noble Julie Robertson suspended development well 47/3b-12 as a potential producer. The field may be included as part of the Juno development.
1/9/03
