BP updates two North Sea tie backs with 30,000 boe/d capacities

Tayvis Dunnahoe

Exploration Editor

BP PLC says its two North Sea satellite fields—Alligin and Vorlich—will produce a peak rate of 30,000 boe/d after coming onstream in 2020.

Alligin is a 20 million-bbl recoverable oil field in the Greater Schiehallion Area about 140 km west of Shetland. Vorlich will recover more than 30 million boe and is about 241 km east of Aberdeen.

Both fields are nearby existing systems with the two-well Alligin development in the west of Shetland begin tied back to BP’s Glen Lyon floating production, storage, and offloading vessel. The two-well Vorlich development is in the central North Sea and the company will tie back production to the Ithaca Energy-operated FPF-1 floating production facility at the center of the company’s Greater Stella Area production hub.

Subsea 7 has been awarded to contract to provide management, engineering, procurement, and construction services for the subsea pipelines at the Alligin development, beginning in 2019.

The Vorlich development is awaiting approval of BP’s environment statement submitted to the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy to begin finalizing its contracting strategy for the development.

BP North Sea Regional Pres. Ariel Flores said the Alligin and Vorlich developments follow on the heels of investments in BP’s Quad 204 project last year and its Clair Ridge project, which is planned to start up later this year. While the new developments are smaller scale, Flores said, “Alligin and Vorlich will lead to significant production gains.”

BP operates Alligin with 50% interest with 50% partner Royal Dutch Shell PLC. BP operates Vorlich with 66% interest and partner Ithaca Energy holds 34%.