Beryl oil field

Last updated
Beryl oil field
North Sea relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
Location of Beryl oil field
CountryUnited Kingdom
RegionNorth Sea
Location/block9/13
Offshore/onshoreOffshore
Coordinates 59°32′47″N01°32′14″E / 59.54639°N 1.53722°E / 59.54639; 1.53722
OperatorMobil (to 2012), Apache (from 2012)
Ownersee text
Field history
Discovery1972
Start of production1976 (Beryl A), 1984 (Beryl B)
Production
Producing formationsSandstones

The Beryl oil field is a major crude oil production field in the UK sector of the northern North Sea, 335 km north east of Aberdeen. Production of oil started in 1976 and the field is still producing oil and gas (2021).

Contents

The field

The Beryl oil field is located in Block 9/13a of the UK North Sea. It is named after Beryl Solomon wife of Charles Solomon the President of Mobil Europe at the time of the field’s discovery. [1] The Beryl field was discovered in May 1972 and is a Triassic and Jurassic sandstone at an average depth of 11,000 feet (3,353 m). [2] The reservoir and the fluids have the following characteristics: [2] [3]

Beryl reservoirs
ReservoirPorosity %Permeability mdWater saturation %Net/Gross ratio %
Bruce141001068
Upper Beryl17300890
Middle Beryl151001242
Lower Beryl151001280
Lewis15203050
Beryl reservoir fluids
ParameterValue
API gravity 36.5°API
Gas Oil Ratio 1,300 standard cubic feet/barrel
Sulfur content0.3 %
Recoverable reserves Beryl A500 million barrels
Recoverable reserves Beryl B300 million barrels
Recoverable gas1.6 trillion cubic feet

Owners and operators

The Beryl field was originally licensed to partners comprising Mobil North Sea Ltd (50%), Amerada Hess (UK) Ltd (20%), Texas Eastern North Sea Inc. (20%), and Enterprise Oil Ltd. (10%). [2] Mobil was the Beryl field operator. In January 2012 the Apache Corporation acquired all the assets of Mobil North Sea and from then was the operator of the Beryl field with a 50% interest. The other owners are Hess Limited (22.22%), Enterprise Oil (22.78%) and OMV (UK) Ltd (5%). [4]

Development

The field was initially developed in 1975 by a single integrated drilling, production and accommodation platform Beryl Alpha (or Beryl A) located in the south of the field. [2] Beryl A has oil storage compartments in the gravity base structure. Oil is exported from Beryl A through a pair of SPM (single point mooring) buoys located 2.0 km from Beryl A. Beryl Bravo (Beryl B) was installed in 1983 and located 8 km north of Beryl A to exploit the northern part of the oil field. Oil is exported from Beryl B to Beryl A through a 20-inch pipeline. [2]

As a ‘stranded asset’ with limited infrastructure gas was injected into the reservoir and the surplus was flared. From 1992 gas was exported via the 203 miles (327 km) 30-inch SAGE (Scottish Area Gas Evacuation) pipeline to St. Fergus. [1] In 1990 a riser tower was added to Beryl A to accommodate risers and gas compression equipment to export gas into SAGE. [5] The principal data of the Beryl field platforms is given in the following table. [2] [5]

Beryl field platforms
InstallationBeryl ABeryl BBeryl Riser Access Tower (RAT)
Coordinates59°32’47”N 01°32’14”E59.610342N 1.512742E59.545178N 1.535725E
Water depth, metres117120117
Fabrication substructureNorwegian Contractors StavangerRGC Methil
Fabrication topsidesAker ArendalBechtel Middlesbrough & Cherbourg
Topside weight, tonnes28,00034,300
FunctionDrilling, production, storage, accommodationDrilling, production, accommodationRisers, compression
Accommodation290200–
TypeCondeepSteel jacketSteel jacket
Legs384
Substructure19 concrete fuel cells32 skirt piles
Well slots4021Nil
Throughput oil, bpd300,000 (including B)100,000–
Throughput gas, MMSCFD150137–
Oil storage capacity, barrels900,000NilNil
Gas injection, million m3/day4.03.7–
Water injection100,000 bwdNilNil
InstalledJuly 1975May 19831990
Production startJune 1976July 19841990
Oil production toSPM buoysBeryl ABeryl A
Gas production toFlare, RATSAGESAGE

The Beryl partners had sanctioned the construction of Beryl B on the understanding that uplift on allowances against Petroleum Revenue Tax would be available for the expenditure. But the UK Government intended to restrict the uplift. Mobil, on behalf of the Beryl partners, argued that if it had been known that uplift was to be withdrawn the investment in Beryl B would not have been made. [6]

Export of oil from the field was by SPM buoys, the design details of the buoys was as follows. [2]

Beryl SPM loading buoys
SPM A (SPM1)SPM B (SPM2)
Coordinates59.554322 1.56266759.534403 1.559217
TypeArticulated lattice towerArticulated cylindrical tower
Water depth, metres119120
Supply from32-inch pipeline from Beryl A32-inch pipeline from Beryl A
Capacity, barrels/h40,00040,000
Loading hose16-inch16-inch
Height, metres149166
Weight, tonnes1,2002,415
FabricationCFEMACMP, Marseille
InstallationSeptember 1975September 1982

In 1985 SPM1 broke free from its moorings and was damaged beyond repair. A replacement, SPM3, was installed in 1987. [5]

An emergency flare is bridge-linked to Beryl A. This comprises a 600 feet (183 m) horizontal steel bridge. The bridge is supported by a 410 feet (125 m) high steel tower with a concrete gravity base. [2]

Production

Beryl A was planned to have 30 production wells and 10 gas or water injection wells. [2]

The processing plant on Beryl A had a nominal capacity of 300,000 barrels of oil per day. There are two parallel process trains each capable of processing 150,000 bbl/day. Oil from the wellheads flows to one of the two High Pressure Separators operating at 150 psi where gas flashes off. Oil then passes to the Low Pressure Separator operating at 3 psi for further gas removal. From here oil flows to the storage tanks prior to export via the SPM buoys. Off-gas from the LP separators is compressed to 150 psi in a centrifugal compressor capable of compressing 12 MMSCFD. The compressed gas is mixed with off-gas from the HP Separator the combined flow of 150 MMSCFD is compressed in 2 stages to 5,200 psi and is injected into the reservoir. Gas injection started in November 1977. [2]

Deoxygenated seawater was injected into the reservoir at up to 100,000 barrels per day, this commenced in January 1979. [2]

Beryl B was planned to have 14 production wells, 5 water injection and 2 gas injection wells.

Processing plant comprised a single 3-phase Separator and an electric motor driven gas compressor. [2]

Redevelopment

Further fields in the Beryl area were developed through Beryl A and B. [7]

From 1979 oil was produced from three subsea satellite wells. These were connected to Beryl A by 6-inch flowlines. [2]

Beryl subsea wells
Well9/13a-6A9/13a-159/13a-20B
Distance3.35 km7.01 km4.57 km
InstallationNovember 1978January 1979September 1979
First productionEnd 1979End 1979End 1979

Further developments included production from small oil and gas fields in the Beryl area. Information on these fields is summarized in the table. [7] [8] [4] Nevis, Ness and Linnhe are named after Scottish lochs.

Beryl area satellite fields
FieldNevis SouthNevis North, Central, WestNessBucklandSkeneLinnhe
Block9/139/139/13b9/189/199/13
Discovery1986199920011988
Recoverable reserves, million tonnes5.4
Oil gravity, °API37–
Water depth, metres108113120118123
Production start1996, now ceased1988199920011989, ceased 1991
Production rate1.0 million tonnes/year30,000 bbl/d180 MMSCFD
Production toBeryl ABeryl BBeryl BBeryl ABeryl ABeryl B

Decommissioning

Nevis South and Linnhe subsea installations have been decommissioned. [4] [7]

Related Research Articles

The Dunlin oilfield is situated 195 km northeast of Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland, in block number 211/23a and 211/24a. It was originally operated by Shell but was sold in 2008 and is now operated by Fairfield Energy and partners MCX.

Platform Name - Tern Alpha.

The Ninian Central Platform is an oil platform in the North Sea. When constructed in Loch Kishorn, Scotland in 1978 the 600,000 tonne platform was the world's largest man-made movable object before being towed to its current position and sunk to the sea floor.

The Clair oilfield is an offshore oil field in Scottish territorial waters 75 kilometres (47 mi) west of Shetland in water depths of up to 140 metres (460 ft). The field is the largest oilfield on the UK Continental Shelf with an estimated 8 billion barrels of oil-in-place, according to the BP Plc's website. It extends over an area of some 220 square kilometres (85 sq mi), covering five licence blocks.

The Harding oilfield is a small oil field operated by TAQA, in the North Sea block 9/23b, approximately 200 miles (320 km) North-East of Aberdeen and in 110 metres (360 ft) of water.

The Everest gasfield is located in the Central North Sea, 233 kilometres (145 mi) east of Aberdeen, Scotland. It lies in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf blocks 22/9, 22/10a and 22/14a. The gasfield was discovered by Amoco in 1982 with first gas produced in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schiehallion oilfield</span>

The Schiehallion oilfield is a deepwater offshore oilfield approximately 175 kilometres (110 mi) west of the Shetland Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Schiehallion and adjacent Loyal field were jointly developed by BP on behalf of the Schiehallion field partners; BP, Shell, Amerada Hess, Murphy Oil, Statoil and OMV, and the Loyal field partners; BP and Shell.

An oil production plant is a facility which processes production fluids from oil wells in order to separate out key components and prepare them for export. Typical oil well production fluids are a mixture of oil, gas and produced water. An oil production plant is distinct from an oil depot, which does not have processing facilities.

The Hutton oil field, located on the UK continental shelf, was the location for the first ever production Tension Leg Platform (TLP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyra Field</span>

Tyra Field is the largest gas condensate field in the Danish Sector of the North Sea. It was discovered in 1968 and production started in 1984. The field is owned by Dansk Undergrunds Consortium, a partnership between Total, Noreco and Nordsofonden, and operated by Total. The reservoir depth is about 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and it covers area of 90 kilometres (56 mi) in the water depth of 37–40 metres (121–131 ft). The Tyra field has a number of satellite fields, including Roar, Svend and Tyra Southeast fields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buzzard oil field</span>

The Buzzard Oil Field is an oil field located in the North Sea Blocks 19/10, 19/5a, 20/6 and 20/1s. It was discovered in 2001 by PanCanadian, and developed initially by PanCanadian's successor EnCana and then by Nexen. The oil field was initially operated and owned by Nexen which is now a subsidiary of China's CNOOC.

Gannet is an oil and gas field located in the United Kingdom's continental shelf in the North Sea. It is 180 km (110 mi) east of Aberdeen, and the water depth at the Gannet offshore installation is 95 m (312 ft). The field is located in Blocks 22/21, 22/25, 22/26 and 21/30. It is half-owned by Royal Dutch Shell (50%) and partly by ExxonMobil (50%) and has been operated by Shell UK Ltd since ‘first oil’ in November 1993. The Gannet A installation is the host platform for subsea tiebacks designated Gannet B to G. Like most Shell fields in the central and northern North Sea the field is named after a sea bird the gannet.

Alwyn North is a major oil and gas field in the United Kingdom sector of the northern North Sea, 160 km east of the Shetland Islands. The field was developed through two bridge-linked offshore platforms and a number of subsea satellite wellheads. Alwyn North has been producing oil and gas since 1987 and is still (2023) in operation.

The Heather oil field is a significant crude oil producing field in the UK sector of the northern North Sea, 458 km north-north-east of Aberdeen. Production of oil started in 1978 and ceased in 2019. The Heather Alpha installation is currently (2021) undergoing decommissioning.

The Tartan oil field is a significant crude oil producing field in the UK sector of the North Sea, 187 km north-east of Aberdeen. Production of oil started in 1981 and ceased in 2020, the Tartan Alpha installation is currently (2021) undergoing decommissioning.

The Maureen oil field is a partially depleted crude oil field in the UK sector of the central North Sea, 262 km north-east of Aberdeen. Oil was produced from the field reservoir by the Maureen A platform between 1983 and 1999. Proposals to further exploit the residual hydrocarbons in the field have yet to be implemented.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ravenspurn gas fields</span>

The Ravenspurn gas fields are two adjacent natural gas fields located in the UK sector of the southern North Sea about 65 km east of Flambrough Head, Yorkshire.

Halfdan is a significant oil and gas field in the south-western part of the Danish sector of the southern North Sea. The field has been in production since 1999. The Sif and Igor fields are satellites to Hallfdan.

The Siri oil field and its satellites, Nini and Cecille, are oil producing fields in the Danish sector of the southern North Sea. Operating since 1999 and 2003 they are the most northerly of Denmark's offshore oil assets located close to the Denmark-Norway median line.

The South Arne field is a major crude oil and associated gas production field in the Danish sector of the central North Sea. Production of oil and gas started in 1999, and peak oil and gas was in 2000.

References

  1. 1 2 Department of Trade and Industry (1994). The Energy Report. London: HMSO. pp. 32 and map 7. ISBN   0115153802.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Oilfield Publications Limited (1985). The North Sea Platform Guide. Ledbury: Oilfield Publications Limited. pp. 51–68.
  3. ↑ Knutson, C.A. and J.C. Munro (1991). "The Beryl Field, Block 9/13, UK North Sea". Geological Society London, Memoirs. 14: 33–42.
  4. 1 2 3 "Beryl Field". Offshore Technology. Archived from the original on 2010-05-07. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 "Charting 40 Years Of Production From The Beryl Field". issuu. 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-10-17. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  6. ↑ Kemp, Alex (2012). The official history of North Sea oil and gas. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 522. ISBN   9781138019034.
  7. 1 2 3 A Barrel Full (2015). "Beryl Oil Field". a barrel full. Archived from the original on 2012-05-20. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "OSPAR Inventory of Offshore Installations - 2017". ospar.org. 2017. Archived from the original on 2021-10-17. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.