Thames gas field

Thames gas field
Thames gas field
Country	United Kingdom
Region	North Sea
Location/blocks	49/28
Offshore/onshore	Offshore
Coordinates	53°05’02”N 02°32’50”E
Operators	ARCO, Perenco
Partners	see text
Field history
Discovery	December 1973
Start of production	1986
Peak year	1987
Abandonment	2014
Production
Producing formations	Rotliegend sandstone

Last updated September 28, 2023

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 fields

The Thames field was discovered by ARCO in December 1973 by well 49/28-4.^[1] The field is principally located in Block 48/28. The gas reservoir is a Rotliegend sandstone. At the time of start-up, the field was jointly owned by ARCO British Ltd (43.34%), British Sun Oil Co Ltd (23.33%), Superior Oil (UK) Ltd (20.00%), Deminex UK Oil & Gas Ltd (10.00%), and Canadian Superior Oil (UK) Ltd (3.33%).^[1] The field was anticipated to have recoverable reserves of 16.2 billion cubic metres (bcm).^[1]

In addition to Thames, the adjacent fields produced natural gas to the Thames facility.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Thames area fields
Field	Block	Date discovered	Reserves, bcm (note 1)	Original owner	Owner in 2014
Thames	49/28	December 1973	16.2	ARCO & others	Perenco
Bure	49/28	May 1983
Wensum	49/28	September 1985
Yare	49/28	May 1969
Orwell	50/26a	February 1990	6.9	ARCO/ Texaco	Tullow
Deben	49/28		1.0	Tullow	Tullow
Welland NW	53/4a	January 1984	8.1	ARCO/Britoil/Elf	Perenco
Welland S	53/4a	June 1984	8.1	ARCO/Britoil/Elf	Perenco
Arthur	53/2	2003	3.7	ExxonMobil	Perenco
Gawain	49/29a	1970	5.55	ARCO	Perenco
Horne	53/3	1992		Hamilton Oil	Tullow
Wren	53/3	1997		ARCO	Tullow
Wissey	53/04	1967		Signal Oil	Tullow

note 1. Reserves are in billion cubic metres (bcm).

The Thames, Bure, Deben, Welland, Wensum and Yare fields are named after rivers in East Anglia and south east England.

Arthur and Gawain are part of the Arthurian gas fields.

Development

The Thames field was developed by ARCO as a central 3-platform bridge linked complex.^[6] In addition to its own gas, Thames was designed to be a central hub to receive and process well fluids from the surrounding installations. Processed gas was transmitted by pipeline from Thames to the Bacton Gas Terminal, Norfolk. The main design parameters of the Thames area installations are summarized in the table.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Thames area installations
Installation name	Block	Coordinates	Water depth, metres	Type	Legs	Piles	Well slots	Production to	Pipeline, length and diameter	Pipeline number
Thames AP	49/28	53°05’02” 02°32’50”	31	Steel jacket	6	6	Nil	Thames AW	bridge	–
Thames AW	49/28	53°05’04” 02°32’50”	31	Steel jacket	4	4	5	Bacton	89.5 km, 24”	PL370
Thames AR	49/28	53°05’02” 02°32’53”	31	Vierendeel tower	4	4	nil	Thames AP	bridge	–
Horne/Wren	53/3	52°54’06” 02°35’57”	41	Steel jacket			2	Thames AR	20.3 km 10”	PL2080
Bure O	49/28-8	53°07’25” 02°25’32”	35	Subsea wellhead	–	–	1	Thames AW	9.3 km, 8”	PL371
Bure West	49/28-18	53.129177 02.403614	35	Subsea wellhead	–	–	1	Thames AR	11.2 km, 8”	PL1635
Orwell	49/26a2	53°08’28” 03°02’34”	33	Subsea wellhead	–	–	3	Thames AW	34 km, 16”	PL931
Yare C	49/28	53.044933 2.574231	37	Subsea wellhead	–	–		Thames AW	4.8 km, 8”	PL372
Welland	49/29b	53.985194 02.736594	39	Steel jacket	3		1	Thames AW	17.5 km,16”	PL674
Welland NW	49/29b	53.089044 2.675147	34	Subsea wellheads	–	–	3	Welland	8 km, 5.8 km, 3.2 km, 8”	PL676 PL677 PL678
Arthur	53/2	52°54’48” 02°14’57”	42	Subsea wellhead	–	–	3	Thames AW	29.3 km, 12”	PL2047
Gawain	49/29a	53°09’35” 02°44’06”	37	Subsea wellhead	–	–	1	Thames AW	15.4 km, 12”	PL1057
Deben / Thurne	49/28	53°06’03” 02°28’44”	34	Subsea wellhead	–	–		Thames AR	5.2 km, 8”	PL1637
Wissey	53/4d	52°54’05” 02°45’11”	39	Subsea wellhead	–	–		Horne/Wren	30.9 km	PL2492

In 2007 the Deben wellhead was reused for the Thurne development.

The Thames AP platform had the main process equipment which included gas compressors and liquid handling plant.^[6] The accommodation facilities for 47 crew were also located on AP. The AW platform had 5 wellheads and the reception facilities for Arthur, Orwell, Gawain, Bure, Welland and Yare fields. The AR platform had reception facilities for Bure West, Horne/Wren and Thurne fields.^[6]

In addition to the gas pipelines, there were also umbilicals between some of the installations.^[6]

Umbilicals
Name	From – to	Diameter, inches	Length, km	Pipeline number
Yare C umbilical	Thames AW to Yare C well	4	4.8	PL373
Bure O umbilical	Thames AW	4	9.3	PL374
Bure West umbilical	Thurne to Bure West	5	11.2	PL1636
Thurne flowline	Thames AR to Thurne	8	4.6	PL1637
Thurne umbilical	Thames AR to Thurne	5	4.5	PL1638

As part of the Thames development new pipeline reception facilities and process plant was installed at the Phillips (latter Eni, Tullow) terminal at Bacton gas terminal. From the reception facilities gas passed to the former Amoco (later Perenco) site for treatment.^[6]

Gas production

Gas production from Thames and the connected fields is shown in the table, data includes the peak rate and the cumulative production over the period 1986 to 2014.^[2]

Gas Production
Name	Production start	Peak flow, mcm/y	Peak year	Production end	Cumulative production to 2014
Thames	1986	1,600	1987	2014	6,867
Wensum	1986			1997	61
Yare	1986			2014	1,945
Bure O	1986	291	1988	2014	2,003
Bure West	1986			2014	822
Horne	2005	325	2006	2011	1,238
Wren	2005	396	2007	2012	1,045
Orwell	1993	1,470	1995	2008	8,618
Welland NW	1990	931	1991	2002	5,378
Welland South	1991	389	1992	2002	2,283
Arthur	2005	858	2005	2014	2,378
Gawain	1995	929	1996	2014	6,311
Deben	1998	240	1999	2004	457
Thurne	2007	129	2007	2012	209
Wissey	2008	257	2009	2013	574

The production profile, in mcm/y, of the Thames field was as shown.^[2]

The production profile, in mcm/y, of the Orwell field was as shown.^[2]

Decommissioning and recommissioning

A cessation of production authorisation for Thames was granted in May 2014.^[6] Perenco developed a decommissioning programme. This entailed the plugging and abandonment of all wells and removal of all structures above the seabed. Pipelines were left in situ after being flushed and filled with seawater.^[6]

In 2019 Independent Oil and Gas (now IOG) purchased the Thames gas pipeline reception facilities at the Bacton terminal.^[7] The facilities comprise an area of land within the Perenco part of Bacton where IOG’s fully-owned Thames pipeline connects to the terminal. It includes gas and liquids reception equipment recommissioned for the development of IOG’s southern North Sea Core Project, across six fields. Produced gas will continue onto the main Perenco Bacton plant for final processing.^[7] In 2021 the Blythe and Southwark platforms were installed.^[8]

Related Research Articles

Amethyst is a natural gas field in the Southern North Sea, about 30 miles (48 km) east of the Yorkshire coast. Gas lies in a Permian sandstone reservoir around 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) below the seabed. The gasfield is operated by BP.

The Easington Gas Terminal is one of six main gas terminals in the UK, and is situated on the North Sea coast at Easington, East Riding of Yorkshire and Dimlington. The other main gas terminals are at St Fergus, Aberdeenshire; Bacton, Norfolk; Teesside; Theddlethorpe, Lincolnshire and Rampside gas terminal, Barrow, Cumbria. The whole site consists of four plants: two run by Perenco, one by Centrica and one by Gassco. The Easington Gas Terminals are protected by Ministry of Defence Police officers and are provided with resources by the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure.

Theddlethorpe Gas Terminal (TGT) is a former gas terminal on the Lincolnshire coast on Mablethorpe Road at Theddlethorpe St Helen close to Mablethorpe in East Lindsey in England. It is just off the A1031 and next door to a holiday camp and Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary and Wildlife Centre.

The Bacton Gas Terminal is a complex of six gas terminals within four sites located on the North Sea coast of North Norfolk in the United Kingdom. The sites are near Paston and between Bacton and Mundesley; the nearest town is North Walsham.

Perenco is an independent Anglo-French oil and gas company with a headquarters in London and Paris. It conducts exploration and production activities in 16 countries around the globe.

The Leman gas field is a natural gas field located in the North Sea.The field is 30 miles (48 km) north-east of Great Yarmouth and is named after the Leman Sandbank beneath which it is situated. The gas reservoir is an 800 ft (240 m) thick Rotliegendes sandstone reservoir at a depth of about 6,000 ft (1,800 m). It is about 18 miles (29 km) long by 5 miles (8.0 km) wide. It was discovered in August 1966 and extends across two blocks. Block 49/26 is licensed to Shell and Block 49/27 was originally licensed to the Amoco-Gas Council joint venture, Block 49/27 is now licensed to Perenco UK Ltd. The field was discovered in 1966 and began production in 1968 and produces natural gas and condensates to the Bacton Gas Terminal on the coast of Norfolk via several pipeline systems. The total proven reserves of the Leman gas field are around 11 trillion cubic feet (316 km³), and production is slated to be around 200 million cubic feet/day (5.7×10⁵m³).

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 Hewett gas field is a large natural gas and associated condensate field located under the North Sea 19 miles off the Norfolk coast.

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.

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 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 Caister Murdoch System (CMS) was a major natural gas collection, processing and transportation system in the UK sector of the southern North Sea. It comprised 11 platforms, 8 subsea wellhead completions and interconnecting pipelines centered about 155 km east of Flamborough Head Yorkshire. It operated from 1993 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 Clipper gas field is a major natural gas reservoir and gas production facility in the UK sector of the southern North Sea. The field is located about 73 km north-north-east of Bacton, Norfolk; the Clipper production facility has operated since 1990.

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 Saturn Banks Project comprises six natural gas reservoirs and gas production facilities in the southern North Sea, 35-55 km north east of Bacton, Norfolk. The fields are under development and first gas is due in 2022.

The Cleeton gas field and hub is a natural gas production, gathering, compression, treatment and transportation facility in the southern North Sea, 54 km east of Flamborough Head, Yorkshire. It has been producing and transmitting gas since 1988.

The Cygnus gas field is a natural gas reservoir and gas production facilities in the UK sector of the southern North Sea. It is about 150 km of east of the Lincolnshire coast and started gas production in 2016.

References

1 2 3 4 Department of Trade and Industry (1994). The Energy Report. London: HMSO. ISBN 0115153802.
1 2 3 4 5 "Oil and Gas UK – Field data". gov.uk. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
1 2 "Inventory of Offshore Installations". odims.ospar.org. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
1 2 "Horne and Wren gas fields". abarrelfull. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
1 2 "Welland Decommissioning Programmes Close Out report" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Thames Complex Decommissioning programmes" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
1 2 "IOG secures Bacton site for North Sea Thames gas". offshore-mag.com. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
↑ "IOG reaches milestone as Blythe and Southwark platforms installed". energyvoice.com. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 2 December 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.

[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 Department of Trade and Industry (1994). The Energy Report. London: HMSO. ISBN 0115153802.

[:1-2] 1 2 3 4 5 "Oil and Gas UK – Field data". gov.uk. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[:2-3] 1 2 "Inventory of Offshore Installations". odims.ospar.org. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[:3-4] 1 2 "Horne and Wren gas fields". abarrelfull. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[:4-5] 1 2 "Welland Decommissioning Programmes Close Out report" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[:5-6] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Thames Complex Decommissioning programmes" (PDF). assets.publishing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[:6-7] 1 2 "IOG secures Bacton site for North Sea Thames gas". offshore-mag.com. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[8] "IOG reaches milestone as Blythe and Southwark platforms installed". energyvoice.com. 7 June 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]