Norwegian oil major Equinor has launched a video of the hook-up and commissioning operations on its Mariner platform in the UK North Sea.
Equinor said in the video released on Monday that between 700-800 people were working on hook-up of the Mariner platform on a daily basis.
According to the company, Mariner is the largest field development on the UK continental shelf in recent years.
Equinor added that it would connect 3,000 cables, install 1,200 pipes, and bring out 3,000 tonnes of loose items which would be installed offshore.
For the resources needed to complete the work, Equinor hired the Safe Boreas flotel which started a 13-month firm operational period at Mariner in early August 2017.
The company exercised two of six one-month options to extend the charter of the Safe Boreas. With the second option exercised, Safe Boreas will continue working for Equinor through to early November 2018.
Mariner
Data on Equinor’s website shows that the Mariner project currently supports over 1,500 UK jobs in the hook-up and commissioning phase of the project, and will create 700 long term positions over the lifetime of the project.
Discovered in 1981 on the East Shetland Platform, approximately 150 kilometers east of the Shetland Islands, the Mariner is a heavy oil field characterized by dense, viscous oil.
Development concept includes a production, drilling and quarters (PDQ) platform based on a steel jacket, Mariner A, with a floating storage unit (FSU), Mariner B. Drilling will be carried out from the Mariner A drilling rig, with a jack-up rig assisting for the first four years.
The Mariner oil field consists of two shallow reservoir sections: the deeper, Maureen formation at 1492 meters and the shallower Heimdal reservoir at 1227 meters. The oil is heavy with API gravities of 14.2 and 12.1 and viscosities at reservoir conditions of 67 cP and 508 cP, respectively for Maureen and Heimdal.
The development of the Mariner field will contribute more than 250 mmbbls reserves with average plateau production of around 55,000 barrels per day. The field will provide a long-term cash-flow over 30 years. Production is expected to start in late 2018.
Offshore Energy Today Staff