Offshore staff
ABERDEEN, UK – Production efficiency on fields in UK waters rose to 75% last year, according to the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).
This represented 11 MMboe added production for 2018, or 30,000 boe/d higher than in 2017 (a 1% improvement).
Actual wellhead production was 3% up on 2017, with economic production potential rising by 1% due to the impact of new fields coming onstream, countering a natural decline of maturing fields.
Among the OGA’s other findings:
Overall production losses in 2018 were down by 6 MMboe to 196 MMboe (from 202 MMboe in 2017), due to reduced well and export losses.
Well losses across the UK shelf dropped by 21% in 2018.
Plant losses, however, rose by 14%.
Floating platforms had the biggest increase (5%) in overall production efficiency compared to the previous year; with some in the northern North Sea and west of Shetland up by 13%.
The OGA compiled the data for its 2018 UKCS Stewardship Survey.
Loraine Pace, head of Performance, Planning and Reporting, said: “The steady improvement demonstrates industry is keeping up best practice, sustaining efficiency efforts, and driving new technologies…
“The OGA remains committed to working with all operators in their efforts to further increase PE to the target of 80%.”
Matt Nicol, chairman of the Production Efficiency Task Force (PETF), added: “We’ve just launched a new Brownfield Digitalization work group to concentrate on the adoption and deployment of technology to help deliver further disruptive PE enhancements.
“Industry is collaborating and delivering results, and we are encouraging more volunteers to join the PETF to continue this momentum and for every operator to get involved.”
06/21/2019
