The Glen Lyon floating production, storage, and offloading vessel has started sea trials as it begins its journey toward West of Shetland, where it will serve as the hub for the 450 million-bbl Quad204 development in the North Sea.
The FPSO measures 270-m-long by 52-m-wide. It will be able to process and export up to 130,000 bo/d and store as much as 800,000 bbl.
Project partners BP PLC, Royal Dutch Shell PLC, and OMV AG describe Glen Lyon as a key element of the multibillion-pound Quad204 project, which is redeveloping the Schiehallion and Loyal fields, extending production to 2035 and possibly beyond.
The project involves connecting and commissioning the FPSO, the drilling of several new production and injection wells, and upgrading the subsea seabed pipeline, manifold, and wellhead infrastructure that will enable the full development of the reserves.
Earlier in 2015, the partners began their 7-year drilling program using Odfjell Drilling’s newbuild Deepsea Aberdeen semisubmersible rig (OGJ Online, Apr. 29, 2015).
Schiehallion and Loyal have produced nearly 400 million bbl of oil since production started in 1998. BP says and the company and its coventurers will continue to look to the latest innovations to maximize recovery from these fields, including the potential use of leading-edge polymer-based enhanced oil recovery technology.
BP continues to award contracts for the project, with almost £45 million of business recently granted to UK-based companies to provide services and equipment for the FPSO, including hook-up support and follow-on commissioning work for the vessel.
BP holds 36.3% interest in the project, with Shell 54.03% and OMV 9.67%.