The Pierce field has secured development approval from the UK’s Oil and Gas Authority
Image: The approval from UK OAG will allow Shell to start exporting gas from the Pierce field. Photo: courtesy of C Morrison from Pixabay.
Subsea 7 has been awarded a contract by Shell for the Pierce project development in the UK Central North Sea.
Under the contract, Subsea 7 is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, transportation and installation (EPCI and T&I) of a 30km gas export pipeline, a gas export riser and associated subsea infrastructure, for tie-ins at the existing Bluewater-operated floating production, support and offloading (FPSO) vessel, the Haewene Brim.
Subsea 7 said it has already commenced project management and detailed engineering at its office in Aberdeen, with offshore activities planned for 2020 and 2021.
Pierce field will have production capacity of more than 30,000boe/d
The contracts follow the final investment decision (FID) made by Shell and its partner Ithaca Energy on the Pierce project development.
The Pierce field, which has secured development approval from the UK’s Oil and Gas Authority (OAG), is expected to have a peak production capacity of more than 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
OGA Central North Sea area manager Scott Robertson said: “We are pleased to approve this development, which follows the approvals last year of the Shearwater-hosted Arran, Fram, Columbus and gas export projects.
“This latest Pierce Gas de-pressurisation development secures approval of another component of the Central Graben Area Plan, developed by the OGA and industry collaborating to maximise economic recovery from this region of the North Sea.”
The project will involve making modifications to the Haewene Brim FPSO and the installation of a sub-sea gas export line from the FPSO to the SEGAL pipeline. It also includes drilling of new wells.
Shell UK Upstream vice-president Steve Phimister said: “This important development of the Pierce field will allow us to unlock additional gas reserves for the UK’s homes and businesses, and value for our shareholders.
“It is Shell’s eighth final investment decision in the UK Continental Shelf since the start of 2018. Each is part of a careful and cost-effective strategic expansion of our North Sea capacity, in line with our core upstream focus on profitable investments and competitive growth opportunities.”
Pierce is a joint venture (JV) between Shell with 92.52% stake and Ithaca Energy holding the remaining 7.48% interest.