Heerema Fabrication Group has marked the first steel for Maersk Oil's Culzean development jackets at its yard in Vlissingen, the Netherlands.
HFG has contracts for fabricating the central processing facility, utilities and livings quarters and well head platform jackets for the high-pressure, high-temperature Culzean development in the North Sea.
The Culzean field - discovered in 2008 - is in the UK sector of the Central North Sea approximately 250km east of Aberdeen in license block 22/25a. The water depth is approximately 88m and the reservoir is located around 4300m below sea level.
The overall Culzean development concept consists of a wellhead platform, a central processing facility platform and a separate utility and living quarter platform with capacity for over 100 people. The platforms will be linked via two bridges approximately 100m in length. First gas is currently expected in 2019. The Culzean project has the potential to meet around 5% of UK gas consumption 2020-2021.
Maersk is operator of the US$4.5 billion Culzean development, along with partners JX Nippon and BP.