Objective
The original aim of the project was to evaluate the potential for standardised production facilities in European waters; to develop a basic design, procurement and fabrication premise for a standard production facilityu; to prepare a preliminary design package and establish the order of costs for its design, fabrication and installation and to further develop the preliminary package into a fully optimised and standardised design package in market-ready form.
The use of a standardised production facility (SPF) is proposed as a viable option for development of offshore gas fields in relatively shallow waters.
The most promising hydrocarbon resource type is "gas-only", ie. where the liquid/gas ratio is less than 10 barrels/million SCF, and where on-hydrocarbon components in the wellstream tend to be minimal.
In terms of processing capacity, it is concluded that design throughputs should be sized within a range suitable for development of the smpall gas fields, having total reserves of between 0.1 and 0.4 TCT of gas.
By far the majority of field prospects in the above range are located in the Southern Basin of the North Sea, where water depths fall predominantly into the range of 25-50 metres.
This suggests that such a depth range might be appropriate to standardisation of a complete topsides/substructure facility. The prospects for anything more than partial standardisation of substructures, however, has been shown to be limited.
Whilstthe well-developed infrastructure of the Southern North Sea Basin will tend to lower the economic viability threshold in this area, there should be no difficulty in applying standardised facilities at any European offshore location falling within the selected field size and processing capacity. It is merely that the threshold will vary from location to location, and from sector to sector.
Neglecting any reduction in lead time to production achievable through standardisation, initial indications are that CAPEX savings of up to 13% are possible, accompanied by OPEX savings of up to 10%.
Each of the above aims was to be represented by a separate phase of the project. Phase 1, 2 and 3 were each structured to include a "decision point' that would govern whether or not the project should proceed to the succeeding phase.
Towards the end of Phase 2, the aim of the study was revised due to market and technology developments. The work was ultimately performed in four phases with marketing activity common throughout :
Phase 1 - Data Gathering and Classification
Phase 2 - Design Premise
Phase 3 - Preliminary Design
Phase 4 - Conceptual Sector Studies.
The use of a standardised production facility (SPF) is proposed as a viable option for development of offshore gas fields in relatively shallow waters. Savings in both cost and schedule are achievable, although some inevitable mismatching will limit these advantages. Some fourteen fields (twelve UK, two Dutch), amongst a total of sixty prospective gas fields in the Southern North Sea Basin, have been identified as nominally suitable for application of the standardised facility.
These fields have assessed recoverable reserves of between 100 and 400 billion cubic feet of dry gas, and are located in water depths in the range of 25 to 50 meters; the "target" ranges for the SPF. It is believed that up to twenty-three additional fields (thirteen in the UK Sector) could be judged suitable when their reserve sizes are known. The objective was not merely to produce a standardised facility, but to standardise at all levels, such that cost advantages would be enhanced further after the second and subsequent installations.
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
DEM - Demonstration contractsCoordinator
London
United Kingdom