French energy company Total announced it has started up production from the Culzean gas condensate field located on Block 22/25a, 230 kilometers off the coast of Aberdeen, in the UK.
With a plateau production of 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), Culzean will account for around 5% of the UK’s gas consumption, bringing to 18% the proportion of the country’s gas demand supplied by Total, the supermajor said.
“The Culzean project is delivered ahead of schedule and more than 10% below the initial budget, which represents capex savings of more than 500 million dollars. This has been achieved thanks to the excellent performance of the project teams in charge of the construction and drilling operations,” stated Arnaud Breuillac, President Exploration & Production at Total. “Culzean is a good example of our efforts to upgrade our portfolio in the North Sea over the last years, notably by bringing Total and Maersk Oil together. The Culzean field is located in the Central Graben area, close to the Elgin-Franklin fields, also operated by Total, thus generating synergies.”
Discovered in 2008 by Maersk Oil, the Culzean field contains resources estimated between 250 and 300 million barrels of oil equivalent. The project includes the drilling of six wells, the construction of three bridge-linked platforms and of a floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit. Gas from Culzean is exported via the CATS pipeline and the UK National Grid whilst condensate is stored in the FSO for offloading by shuttle tanker.
Total said new digital technologies applied on the project, such as the latest smart rooms, will deliver higher efficiency during operations and create a safer working environment.
Total operates Culzean with a 49.99% participating interest, alongside partners BP (32%) and JX Nippon (18.01%).