Greater Markham Area gas fields

Last updated
Markham gas field
CountryUnited Kingdom and Netherlands
Regionsouthern North Sea
Location/blocks49/5a and 49/10b (UK), J3b and J6 (NL)
Offshore/onshoreOffshore
Coordinates53° 50.527’ N 02° 52.059’ E
Operatorssee text
Field history
DiscoveryJuly 1974
Start of production1992
Peak of production1995
Abandonment2019
Production
Recoverable gas19.8×10^9 m3 (700×10^9 cu ft)
Producing formationsPermian sandstone

The Greater Markham Area gas fields are natural gas reservoirs and gas production facilities that straddled, or are close to, the UK and Netherlands median line of the southern North Sea. The UK field production facilities, which export gas to the Netherlands, began operation in 1992.

Contents

The fields

The Greater Markham Area gas fields are located in UK Blocks 49/4, 49/5, 49/9 and 49/10 and in Netherlands Blocks J3 and J6 of the southern North Sea. The fields are named: Markham, Windermere, Chiswick, Grove, Stamford and Kew. [1] [2]

Markham

The Markham gas field was discovered by Ultramar in July 1984 with well 49/05-2. It is a lower Permian Leman/Slochteren sandstone, sourced from Carboniferous coal measures and is overlaid with Permian Silverpit claystone. It is a sweet gas with 83 % methane and a gas/condensate ratio of 9 barrels per million standard cubic feet (9 bbl/MMSCF) or 52.2 m3/106 m3. Recoverable reserves were estimated to be 700 Billion cubic feet (BCF) or 19.8 x 109 m3. [1] Ownership of the gas was established by the UK/Netherlands Markham Treaty as 37.40 % UK and 62.60 % Netherlands. [3]

The original licensee for Markham was a joint venture comprising Ultramar Exploration Ltd (89.50 %), DNO Offshore Ltd (8.00 %) and Ranger Oil (UK) Ltd (2.5 %.). [3] Ownership passed to CH4 Energy Ltd in 2003, Venture Production acquired ownership in 2006. Ownership eventually passed to Centrica, then in 2017 to Spirit Energy a joint venture of Centrica plc and Bayerngas Norge AS. [4]

Windermere

The UK Windermere gas field produced gas to Markham and hence to the Netherlands. Windermere is a Rotliegend-Leman sandstone discovered in 1989 by well 49/09b-2 by Mobil (who named the field Avalon) [3] and had an estimated gas in place of 104 BCF or 2.8 x 106 m3. [5]

Chiswick, Grove and Kew

The Chiswick and Kew are both Carboniferous fields Chiswick has gas in place of 687 BCF or 19.45 x 106 m3 and Kew 85 BCF or 2.41 x 106 m3. [6]

Development

The Greater Markham Area gas fields were developed in stages. Markham and Windermere gas fields were the first to be developed in 1994 and 1996. Gas was produced by two offshore installations, detailed in the table. [1] [7]

Offshore platforms Markham and Windermere
InstallationMarkham ST-1Windermere
Blocks49/5a and 49/10b (UK),

J3b and J6 (NL)

49/9b
Coordinates53° 50.527’ N 02° 52.059’ E53° 49.937’ N 02° 46.364’ E
OwnerSpirit EnergyIneos UK SNS Ltd
TypeNormally unattendedNormally unattended
Water depth, metres3135
Installation date1994November 1996
Jacket typeFixed steelFixed steel
Jacket legs43
Jacket piles43
Jacket weight, tonnes888382
Topsides dimensions, metres26.3m x 22m30m x 30m
Topsides weight, tonnes1,300452
Wellheads62
Export toMarkham J6-AMarkham ST-1
Production startNovember 1992April 1997

The Chiswick, Grove, Kew and Stamford gas fields were developed over the period 2006-2014 by four offshore installations, detailed in the table. [1] [2] [8]

Offshore installations Chiswick, Grove, Kew and Stanford
InstallationChiswickGroveKewStamford
Blocks49/4a49/10a49/4c49/10c
Coordinates53.939967 2.774053353.858778 2.88600053.954935 2.78448653.804192 2.836928
OwnerSpiritSpiritSpiritSpirit
TypePlatformPlatformSubsea wellheadsSubsea wellheads
Water depth, metres40304134
Installation date2006200620142009
Jacket typeFixed steelFixed steel––
Jacket legs––
Jacket piles––
Jacket weight, tonnes650500––
Topsides weight, tonnes350480––
Wellheads11
Export toMarkham J6-AMarkham J6-AChiswickMarkham J6-A
Production start2006200620142009

In addition to the platforms and subsea wells there were also gas and methanol pipelines and umbilicals in the Greater Markham area. [1]

Pipelines and Umbilicals
From – ToCountryFluidDiameter, inchesLength, kmPipeline number
Markham ST-1 – Median lineUKGas122.35PL992
Median line – J6ANetherlandsGas123.13PL992
J6A – Median lineNetherlandsMethanol23.127PL993
Median line – Markham ST-1UKMethanol22.347PL993
Windermere – Markham ST-1UKGas86.8PL1273
Markham ST-1 – WindermereUKMethanol26.8PL1273.1-3
Chiswick – J6AUK, NetherlandsGas1018.3PL2353
J6A – ChiswickUK, NetherlandsMethanol1.518.3PL2354
Grove – J6AUK, NetherlandsGas1013.4PL2319
J6A – GroveUK, NetherlandsMethanol213.4PL2320
Stamford – J6AUK, NetherlandsGas67.5PL2367
J6A – StamfordUK, NetherlandsMethanol7.5PLU2368
Kew – ChiswickUKGas63.1PL2974
Chiswick – KewUKMethanol3.1PLU2975

Production

Gas production from Greater Markham Area fields is shown in the table and the graphs. [3] [2] [8]

Gas Production
FieldProduction startPeak flow, mcm/yPeak yearProduction ceasedCumulative production to 2020 (mcm)
MarkhamNovember 19929331995April 20167,877
WindermereApril 19974381998April 20162217
Chiswick20075692009–6915
Grove20076362010–3873
Kew20141752014–1053
Stamford200913220092013165

The production profile, in mcm/y, of the Markham field was as shown. [8]

The production profile, in mcm/y, of the Windermere field was as shown. [8]

The production profile, in mcm/y, of the Chiswick field was:

The production profile, in mcm/y, of the Grove field was:

The production profile, in mcm/y, of the Kew field was:

The production profile, in mcm/y, of the Stamford field was:

Decommissioning

Spirit Energy submitted a Markham ST-1 decommissioning Programme to the Oil and as Authority in 2018. [1] Ineos Oil & Gas UK submitted a Windermere decommissioning Programme to the Oil and as Authority in 2018. [7] Decommissioning activities entailed plugging and abandonment of the wells and removal of all structures above the seabed. [1] The Markham topsides were taken to Lerwick Shetland for dismantling.

See also

Related Research Articles

This is a list of oil and gas fields operated by BP.

The Anglia gas field, is a natural gas field in the United Kingdom's continental shelf of the Southern North Sea. It is located in blocks 48/18 and 48/19 about 60 km (37 mi) east of the Lincolnshire coast. The reservoir is located at a depth of approximately 8,500 feet (2,600 m) subsea. The field was discovered in February 1972. Detailed seismic and appraisal well work were conducted in 1984. The reservoir was estimated to have 235 billion cubic feet of gas in place.

The Indefatigable gas field is a large natural gas and associated condensate field located under the North Sea 60 miles off the Norfolk coast.

The West Sole gas field is a natural gas and associated condensate field located under the North Sea 44 miles (70 km) off the East Yorkshire coast. The field produced Britain’s first offshore natural gas in 1967.

The Viking gas field is a group of natural gas and associated condensate fields located under the southern North Sea about 85 miles from the Lincolnshire coast. The field was in production from 1972 to 2018.

The Kotter and Logger oil and gas fields are mid-size fields located in the Netherlands sector of the North Sea, about 40 km west of Den Helder and 107 km north west of Amsterdam. The Kotter and Logger oil fields produced oil from 1984/5 to 2015.

The L10 gas field is a major natural gas producing field and hub in the Netherlands sector of the North Sea, about 65 km west of Den Helder. The field started producing gas in 1976 and was still operational in 2021.

Esmond, Forbes and Gordon are three adjacent, now depleted, natural gas fields in the southern North Sea, 170 km east of Teesside.

The Morecambe gas fields are two major natural gas producing fields in Morecambe Bay in the Irish Sea, 27 km west of Blackpool.

The K13 gas fields were major natural gas producing fields in the Netherlands sector of the North Sea, about 130 km west of Den Helder. The fields started producing gas in 1975 but are no longer operational except for one installation used as a riser platform.

The Arthurian gas fields are small natural gas producing areas in the UK sector of the southern North Sea, their names are associated with the legend of King Arthur. The fields started gas production from 1989 and several are now depleted and have been decommissioned.

The Planets gas fields are small natural gas producing areas in the UK sector of the southern North Sea, their names are associated with the planets and moons of the solar system. The fields started gas production from 1995, although some have now (2021) ceased operation.

The Lincolnshire Offshore Gas Gathering System (LOGGS) was a major natural gas collection, processing and transportation complex in the UK sector of the southern North Sea. It comprised five bridge-linked platforms about 118 km east of the Lincolnshire coast, which operated from 1988 to 2018. 

The Pickerill and Juliet gas fields are decommissioned natural gas producing facilities in the UK sector of the southern North Sea. The fields are located about 66 km (41 mi) east of Spurn Head, Lincolnshire. Pickerill was in operation from 1992 until 2018 and Juliet from 2014 to 2018.

The Thames gas field is a depleted natural gas reservoir and former gas production facility in the UK sector of the southern North Sea. The field is located about 80 km north east of Bacton, Norfolk; the Thames production facility was in operation from 1986 until 2014.

The Tyne, Trent and Tors gas fields are depleted natural gas reservoirs and former gas production facilities in the southern North Sea, centred around the Trent installation about 115 km east of Flamborough Head, Yorkshire. The fields produced gas from 1996 to 2020.

The Davy, Bessemer, Beaufort, Brown and Boyle gas fields are natural gas reservoirs and gas production facilities in two locations in the southern North Sea. The fields produced natural gas from 1995.

The A-Fields are natural gas reservoirs and gas production facilities in the southern North Sea; about 123 km east of Spurn Head, Yorkshire. The fields produced natural gas from 1988 to 2016.

The Minke, Orca, Sillimanite and Wingate fields are natural gas reservoirs and gas production facilities in the southern North Sea; they are close to, or straddle, the United Kingdom / Netherlands median line. Natural gas, which is routed to the Netherlands, has been produced from the fields since 2007.

The Tolmount gas field is a natural gas reservoir and production facility in the UK sector of the southern North Sea, about 36 km of east of Flamborough Head, Yorkshire. It is due to start production in 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Markham ST-1 Decommissioning Programmes" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. 1 2 3 "Inventory of Offshore Installations". odims.ospar.org. Retrieved 4 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. 1 2 3 4 Department of Trade and Industry (1994). The Energy Report. London: HMSO. pp. 70 124 134. ISBN   0115153802.
  4. ↑ "Spirit Energy". www.spirit-energy.com. Retrieved 4 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ↑ "The Windermere gas field" . Retrieved 4 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ↑ "Chiswick and Kew fields". mem.lyellcollection.org. Retrieved 4 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. 1 2 "Windermere Decommissioning Programme" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Oil and Gas UK – Field data". www.gov.uk. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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.