A new satellite platform built in the north east of England is due to float out of its yard tonight (May 29) to be installed 177km off Aberdeen.
The 6338ton Forties Alpha satellite platform (FASP) topsides is part of a £400million project to increase the number of well slots and facilities at Forties Alpha.
Investment in Forties Alpha is in turn part of continued investment in the Forties area by Apache since it bought the asset off BP 10 years ago.
Forties was the first of the UK’s large oil fields, discovered in 1970 and officially inaugurated by The Queen in 1975, and had originally been slated to be decommissioned from this year.
The satellite platform, built at OGN’s Hadrian Yard at Wallsend, on the Tyne, will add 18 drilling slots to Forties Alpha as well as gas dehydration and compression facilities, export pumps, power generation, lifeboat and crane. It will have capacity to produce 25,000bo/d.
It will be towed out to the field, 177km off Aberdeen, over about 72 hours by Heerema Marine Contractors and will be installed in about two weeks using Heerema’s construction vessel Thialf on to a 6482ton jacket, also built by OGN. First oil is expected in autumn.
The new satellite platform for the field is first central North Sea platform to be built at a single construction yard in the UK for at least 25 years, says OGN.
Apache North Sea’s managing director, Jim House, says: “The installation of the Forties Alpha satellite platform represents a major milestone for Apache’s significant investment program. I’m especially proud that Apache is installing this new platform at the same time production from Forties was originally scheduled to scale down.
“Production in the Forties Field is currently running at an average of 57,000 bo/d of oil, five times higher than the outlook of 10 years ago.”
The Forties Field includes five existing production installations; Forties Alpha, Forties Bravo, Forties Charlie and Forties Delta, which were installed in 1974 and 1975, with the Forties Echo platform being installed in 1986.
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