The company plans to use the platform, which formerly operated at the Spirit Energy-operated Chestnut Field, for the 23-MMbbl Avalon development in the UK central North Sea.
Ping received a letter of “no objections” from the UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) in March for its proposals for Avalon.
In addition, the NSTA granted a 19-month extension to the second term of the P2006 license containing the field, giving Ping the extra time its needs to optimize the development and secure full regulatory approval for its plan.
The company plans to modify the FPSO to facilitate electrification from an external, low-carbon source.
It is also assessing the potential for connecting it to a dedicated floating offshore wind turbine as the power source, to minimize diesel use and associated greenhouse-gas emissions.
Tan Sri Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, group managing director of Ping’s parent company Dagang NeXchange, expects the FPSO to be fully operational on Avalon by 2025.
“Our next step is to secure approval for our field development lan, which will be submitted in the coming months,” he said.
The 60-m-diameter FPSO, first commissioned in 2008, has as storage capacity of 270,000 bbl of oil and can produce up to 30,000 bbl/d of oil, with accommodation for up to 47 offshore personnel.
07.07.2022
