Marigold Field lies at a water depth of 140m in UK Central North Sea. The location is approximately 250km north-east of Aberdeen, Scotland.

The offshore field is part of a cluster that includes the Marigold East, Marigold West, and Sunflower fields. The cluster also includes Crown field and Kildrummy discovery.

Marigold West is situated within Licence P198 Block 15/13a, while Marigold West field is within Licence P2158 Block 15/18b.

Anasuria Hibiscus UK (AHUK), a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia’s Hibiscus Petroleum, owns 87.5% interest in Block 15/13a. Caldera Petroleum UK holds the remaining 12.5% interest. 

Ithaca Oil and Gas, a subsidiary of Ithaca Energy, holds 100% interest in Licence P2158 Block 15/18b.

In September 2023, AHUK, Caldera Petroleum, and Ithaca entered into a Unitisation And Unit Operating Agreement (UUOA) to jointly develop the Marigold field.

The field development plan is expected to be submitted in 2024, with first oil expected in 2028.

Background Details

In October 2018, AHUK signed an agreement to acquire 50% interest in blocks 15/13a and 15/13b from Caldera Petroleum for $37.5m.

The company commenced the development of the Marigold and Sunflower fields in Licence P198 in early 2019.

The concept select report of the Marigold and Sunflower fields was submitted to the UK Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) in August 2019. It received a no-objection letter in October 2019.

In December 2019, AHUK completed the acquisition of North Sea Blocks 15/18d and 15/19b from United Oil & Gas and Swift Exploration. The blocks, located 12km south-east of Marigold field, contain the Crown Discovery.

In January 2021, AHUK executed the Licence Agreement for 100% interest in Block 15/17a that contains the Kildrummy discovery. It is located 8km from Marigold.

In the same month, OGA requested AHUK to work with Ithaca Energy and devise a common development solution for the assets in the two licences.

AHUK also increased its stake in Marigold and Sunflower to 87.5% in 2021.

Marigold Reserves

Marigold and Sunflower assets are estimated to contain 43.6 million barrels of undeveloped 2C resources.

The development of the cluster is estimated to deliver between 50 to 60 million barrels of oil equivalent during its operational life, thereby improving the UK’s energy security.

At peak, the offshore project is estimated to produce 40,000 barrels of oil per day and 12 million standard cubic metres of gas per day.

Marigold Development Details

The offshore project is planned to be developed in phases.

According to the Marigold field development concept, the project will include up to nine subsea wells, tied back to the Piper Bravo platform via a 16km umbilical.

At Piper Bravo platform, gas lift and processing services will be undertaken. Subsequently, the produced oil will be exported to Repsol Sinopec’s Flotta Terminal in the Orkney Islands just north of mainland Scotland.

Other assets such as Sunflower, Crown and Kildrummy discoveries are planned to be developed as tiebacks to the Marigold infrastructure.

The FDP for Sunflower field is expected to be submitted separately and does not form part of the UUOA. Crown development will include a single well tied back to the Marigold field.

Piper Bravo Platform

The Piper B is an eight-legged fixed steel jacket-supported platform located in United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS) Block 15/17n in approximately 145m of water depth.

The platform was installed in 1992 and it commenced production in February 1993.

Piper B platform processing facilities separate oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs) and dry gas produced from the Piper, Saltire, Chanter, Iona and Tweedsmuir reservoirs.

The platform processes oil and condensate for onward transmission to Flotta Terminal for tanker offload.

Contractors Involved

In April 2021, Worley won a contract to provide front end engineering and design (FEED) services to AHUK and support upgrading the existing floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) to support Phase I of Marigold development.

In May 2022, Repsol Sinopec Resources, TechnipFMC and Petrofac commenced the pre-front-end engineering and design studies (Pre-FEED) for the development of the Marigold field via the Piper Bravo platform.