BP has announced completion of a major milestone on its Kinnoull project in the UK’s central North Sea. On 14th October the new 700 tonne processing unit for the Kinnoull and Andrew Lower Cretaceous reservoirs, built in Hartlepool, England, was successfully installed on to BP’s Andrew platform, 230 kilometres north west of Aberdeen.
The Kinnoull field is one of three reservoirs that are being developed as part of the rejuvenation of the Andrew area. The reservoir will be connected to BP’s Andrew platform and will enable production there to be extended by a further decade.
Trevor Garlick, Regional President for BP’s North Sea business said: “The Kinnoull project is significant to the North Sea business, and wider BP, and is a clear example of the company’s strategy in action. Advances in our understanding of the reservoir structure, deployment of the very latest in UK subsea engineering skills and a major upgrade of the Andrew platform are key success factors of this development.”
He added: “The other important point about this project is that investment is occurring largely in the UK, with around 90% of the £700 million being invested in England and Scotland. At its peak the project has created employment for over 1,000 people in the UK.”
In order to access the new reservoir, the project has installed a new subsea system and caisson onto the Andrew platform. Four subsea pipeline bundles with a total length of 28 km – the longest bundle system in the world – will carry the fluids to the Andrew platform for processing and onward export.
Production from Kinnoull is forecast to peak at 45,000 barrels per day and be exported via the existing Forties pipeline system to Kinneil and the CATS pipeline system to Teesside.
BP owns 77.06%, with other interests as follows: Eni (16.67%); JX Nippon (6.27%);
[mappress] Press Release, October 16, 2012; Images courtesy of BP