Wireline Issue 46 - Autumn 2019

Image right: The Q7000 during sea trials.

With output of 100,000 boepd at peak, Culzean will supply 5% of the UK's gas demand.

per day and has a total storage capacity of 430,000 barrels. It is anchored in place 4km from the Culzean topsides via a SOFEC turret mooring system. Culzean’s topsides (five modules spread across the three platforms) arrived from Singapore in July 2018, along with the FSO, kicking off the hook up and commissioning operation. Claus estimates that the hook-up involved “around 700 people” in the field, including more than 100 personnel on the drilling rig itself, again confirming its status as a true megaproject. The hook up and ‘dynamic commissioning’ continued for just under a year, culminating in first gas on 7 June 2019. “First gas export was reached in July,” Claus continues, “and we are currently sitting in a pretty good place with four wells online and nearing our production plateau.” In addition to the project scale, the reservoir itself presents challenges. “Compared to a normal reservoir, it’s about five times the pressure and two times the temperature,” he explains, “Which of course makes it a little bit more complex — you need high-integrity process systems to mitigate any risks.”

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