UK’s Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has published a strategy outlining a plan to maximize the economic recovery of ‘tight gas’ from the Southern North Sea (SNS).
According to OGA’s “conservative” estimates, there are some 3.8 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of remaining gas accessible in the SNS, including infill opportunities, undeveloped discoveries, and prospects.
The regulator said that tight gas reservoirs were often disregarded as high cost and high risk, with license holders instead tending to focus on less complex developments with lower costs and higher recovery factors. For clarification, tight gas describes low permeability gas reservoirs that produce primarily dry gas.
OGA added that the Southern North Sea Tight Gas Strategy was developed to help stimulate greater use of technology and collaboration to overcome these barriers and unlock significant remaining potential in the SNS.
Eric Marston , OGA area manager for the Southern North Sea and East Irish Sea, said: “Maximizing recovery of tight gas represents a real opportunity to extend the life of the Southern North Sea’s existing infrastructure, including the development of marginal fields and potentially the redevelopment of existing fields.
“In addition, we can expect an upturn in activity to benefit the supply chain by building their capability and expertise in tight gas. We’ve also been working closely with industry via the East of England Energy Group’s (EEEGr) SNS Rejuvenation Special Interest Group, which in turn has been actively supporting the tight gas agenda.”
Southern North Sea Tight Gas Strategy
The Strategy announced on Thursday identifies OGA’s tight gas ambition as well as ways of its implementation.
The UK oil and gas regulator plans to drive the economic development of tight gas reservoirs across the SNS. It also aims to support existing tight gas projects and ensure readiness of future projects as well as support collaboration to reduce both costs and risks by sharing knowledge and expertise.
Furthermore, OGA looks to identify and promote opportunities to undertake campaign activities across operators and drive economies of scale and ensure appropriate technology is developed and deployed to support the economic recovery.
Eight-step program
To ensure the implementation of the SNS Tight Gas Strategy and its tight gas-related ambitions, OGA developed an eight-step program, as follows: