Brae oilfield

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Brae oil field
North Sea location map.svg
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Location of Brae oil field
Country Scotland, United Kingdom
Region North Sea
Location/block16/7a
Offshore/onshoreoffshore
Coordinates 58°42′N1°18′E / 58.7°N 1.3°E / 58.7; 1.3 Coordinates: 58°42′N1°18′E / 58.7°N 1.3°E / 58.7; 1.3 [1]
OperatorTAQA
Partners BP, Centrica, GDF Suez, Nippon Oil, TAQA
Field history
Discovery1975 (North sector)
1976 (Central sector)
1977 (South sector)
Start of production1983 (South)
1988 (North)
1989 (Central)

The Brae field is a Scottish oil field. The name comes from a Scots language word for hillside. The field was discovered in 1974 by well 16/7-1 drilled by a semi-submersible rig Odin Drill for operator Pan Ocean. [2]

Contents

The Fields are operated by TAQA Bratani and are located in UKCS block 16/7a. Three accumulations total about 70 million tonnes of oil liquids and a further 22 cubic kilometres of gas. The main platforms currently produce from underlying reserves, with regular infill drilling to identify and exploit undrained pockets in the Brae stratigraphy. A number of subsea tieback fields in the area produce through facilities on the platforms, extending their viability into the future. Gas is exported to St Fergus, Scotland via the SAGE pipeline system and oil is exported via the Forties system.

Field reservoirs

The hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Brae field have the following properties. [3] [4]

Brae field reservoir properties
FieldBrae SouthBrae CentralBrae North
ReservoirUpper Jurassic sandsUpper Jurassic
Depth12,000-13,500 ft12,000 ft
Oil column1,500 ft
API gravity37°33°47° (NGL)
Sulfur0.64 %0.64 %
Gas Oil Ratio1,400 scf/bbl5,000 scf/bbl
Carbon dioxideUp to 35%8 %
Pressure & temperature7,200 psi, 240 °F7,000 psi, 240 °F
Bubble point pressure3,688 psi
Recoverable reserves, oil267 million bbl; 40 million tonnes65 million bbl; 9.0 million tonnes204 million bbl; 21 million tonnes
Recoverable reserves, NGL33 million bbl NGL6 million bbl
Recoverable reserves, gas155 billion cubic feet682 billion cubic feet; 22 billion cubic metres

Topside facilities

The topsides for Brae Alpha (Brae South) were designed by Matthew Hall Engineering [5] which was awarded the contract in August 1979. Initially there were facilities for 19 oil production wells, 14 water injection wells, two gas injection wells and 11 spare slots. The production capacity was 100,000 barrels of oil per day, 12,000 barrels of Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) per day and 4.25 million standard cubic metres of gas per day. There are two production trains each with three stages of separation with the first stage operating at the exceptionally high initial pressure, for that time, of 248 bar. Electricity generation was powered by four 25 MW Rolls Royce SK-30 gas turbines. The topside accommodation was for 240 people. There were 14 topside modules and the topsides weight was 31,000 tonnes. [5]

The topsides for Brae Bravo (Brae North) were designed by Matthew Hall Engineering which was awarded the contract in October 1983. [5] Initially there were facilities for 12 oil production wells, three gas injection wells and 19 spare slots. The production capacity was 75,000 barrels of liquid hydrocarbons per day, and 11.3 million standard cubic metres of gas per day. There is a single production train with four stages of separation with the first stage operating at a pressure of 103. Electricity generation was powered by three 24 MW Rolls Royce/GEC ERB-124C gas turbines. The topside accommodation was for 240 people. There were 21 topside modules and the topsides weight was 33,000 tonnes. [5]

The topsides for East Brae were designed by Matthew Hall Engineering which was awarded the contract in October 1988. [5] Initially there were facilities for 13 oil wells, and four gas injection wells and 13 spare slots. The production capacity was 120,000 barrels of liquid hydrocarbon per day, and 17.6 million standard cubic metres of gas per day. There is a single production train with three stages of separation with the first stage operating at a pressure of 102 bar. Electric power is provided from Brae A and Brae B by subsea cable. The topside accommodation was for 160 people. The topsides weight was 18,500 tonnes. [5] Fabrication details are shown in the table. [4] [3]

Brae platforms – construction
InstallationFabrication contractorSiteInstallation date
Brae AlphaMcDermott ScotlandArdersierApril 1982
Brae BravoMcDermott ScotlandArdersierJune 1987
Brae EastTrafalgar House Offshore FabricatorsMethilMay 1993
Brae platforms key  facts
PlatformBrae AlphaBrae Bravo
TypeSteel jacketSteel jacket
FunctionDrilling, production, accommodationDrilling, production, accommodation
Coordinates58°41’33”N 01°16’54”E58°47’32”N 01°20’51”E
Water depth112 m99.5 m
Jacket weight18,600 tonnes22,000 tonnes
Legs88
Piles3636
Topsides weight32,000 tonnes40,000 tones
Accommodation240240
Well slots4634
Wells planned14 producers, 14 water injection, 2 gas injection12 production; 3 gas injection
InstallationJune 19821987
Production startJuly 19831988

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Northern/Central North Sea Map". Archived from the original on 4 April 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2009.
  2. ↑ Pye, Malcolm (2018). "The Discovery and Development of the Brae Area Fields, U.K. South Viking Graben". Rift-Related Coarse-Grained Submarine Fan Reservoirs; the Brae Play, South Viking Graben, North Sea. pp. 155–162. doi:10.1306/13652181M1153810. ISBN   9780891813958.
  3. 1 2 Oilfield Publications Limited (1985). The North Sea Platform Guide. Ledbury: Oilfield Publications Limited. pp. 69–81.
  4. 1 2 Department of Trade and Industry (1994). The Energy Report. London: HMSO. p. 140. ISBN   0115153802.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Matthew Hall Engineering publicity brochure n.d. but c. 1990
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