UK-based energy giant BP has announced that it has successfully initiated production in the Seagull field.
The produced oil and gas is now being transported through a subsea tieback. This will go to the 25-year-old Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) hub and its central processing facility (CPF), which lies some 140 miles offshore of Aberdeen and is operated by BP.
It is the first project to tieback to the ETAP CTF in two decades, and this will support the facility in continuing to operate with its 350 full-time employees.
The Seagull field is a joint venture between BP (50%), Neptune Energy (35%), and JAPEX (15%). Neptune Energy led the development phase in terms of installing the necessary subsea apparatus and drilling wells, while BP, which also makes the Castrol hydraulic oil and other lubricant products, will operate the production phase.
At peak production, the field can be expected to yield about 50,000 barrels equivalent of oil each day.
BP’s North Sea senior vice president, Doris Reiter, said in a press release that the company’s main priority for:
“…the North Sea is to identify projects that can be developed efficiently using existing infrastructure. Seagull is a great example of this, and my thanks go to the committed teams at BP, our joint venture partners and supply chain colleagues who worked so hard to safely deliver this important project.”
The ETAP hub was originally due to be decommissioned this year, but in 2015, a billion-dollar investment was made to ensure it could continue operating into the next decade.
