BP announces completion of major milestone on the £550 million Devenick gas project

BP is pleased to announce the completion of a major milestone on the Devenick gas project in the central North Sea.

On 29th September a 600 tonne module, recently fabricated in McNulty’s South Shields yard, was successfully lifted on to Marathon Oil’s East Brae platform, the host for the new subsea development. The module will receive gas and condensate from the Devenick reservoir, and separate them before onward transportation through two existing pipeline networks.

The Devenick gas project was approved by the Government in late 2010 and is on track to provide an important new source of domestic gas for the UK from 2012. Production from the field is due to peak in 2013 at up to 200 million standard cubic feet per day, equivalent to approximately 3 per cent of UK gas production.

Trevor Garlick, Regional President for BP’s North Sea business, said “The Devenick project is the latest demonstration of BP’s strategic objective to sustain a material and high quality business in the North Sea. The project will provide an important source of domestic gas to the UK and is providing a source of employment in the UK for some 1,100 people over the lifetime of the project. Around 90 per cent of the project expenditure is occurring in the UK.”

The initial development will connect gas production from two new wells to the Devenick subsea manifold via specially insulated flowlines. At the manifold, the gas flows will be combined before being sent to Marathon Oil’s East Brae platform via a single insulated 34km pipeline. From the East Brae platform the gas will be exported through the SAGE transportation pipeline system to the terminal at St Fergus. Oil production will be exported from the East Brae platform through the Brae Liquids Pipeline to the Forties Pipeline System.

Total gas in place in the Devenick field is estimated at 430 billion standard cubic feet and production is expected to last until 2025.

BP owns 88.7% and RWE Dea UK the remaining 11.3%.

Further information

Contacts

BP Press office, London: +44 1224 832030 or +44 (0)20 7496 407, bppress@bp.com

Notes to editors
 

• The Devenick field is located 35km north of the East Brae platform in the Central North Sea. The field was first discovered in 1983 and a further 3 appraisal wells were drilled between 1986 and 2001.
• New advances in subsea technology combined with an improved understanding of the reservoir, have now allowed the JV partnership to move ahead with an economic development.
• Fabrication of key items:

1. At McNulty Offshore Construction in South Shields where the new platform module was constructed;
2. At Evanton, near Invergordon, where Technip are fabricating the pipelines and spools;
3. At Isleburn where fabrication of the subsea manifold and other subsea equipment is occurring.
4. The subsea engineering and package management has been executed by JP Kenny;
5. The subsea construction contract was awarded to Technip last year;
6. Marathon Oil's topsides brownfield design and construction work is being done by Petrofac, whilst the new module was designed by Aker Solutions.