February 2015, Vol. 242, No. 2

Projects

BP Announces First Oil From Kinnoull Field In Central North Sea

BP, on behalf of the Kinnoull field co-venturers, announced the start of production from the Kinnoull field in the central North Sea. Kinnoull was BP’s seventh and final major upstream project start-up in 2014.

The Kinnoull reservoir, developed as part of a wider rejuvenation of the Andrew field area, is tied back to BP’s Andrew platform, 230-km east of Aberdeen, and is expected to enable production there to be extended by a further decade.

In order to access the reservoir, a new subsea system has been installed, together with a 700 ton topside processing module on the Andrew platform. Production is now carried from the Kinnoull field to the Andrew platform via a 28-km subsea pipeline bundle – the longest such system in the world – for processing and onward export via the Forties pipeline system (oil) and the CATS pipeline system (gas).

The investment included extensive refurbishment of the Andrew platform to improve its integrity and operational efficiency.

Trevor Garlick, regional president for BP’s North Sea business said: “50 years after BP was awarded its first license in the North Sea, the successful start-up of Kinnoull demonstrates our continued commitment to maximizing recovery from the basin.”

Production from Andrew and Kinnoull is forecast to peak at over 50,000 boe/d, and is expected to make a significant contribution to BP’s commitment to grow its operating cash flow.

BP operates and has a 77.06% interest in Kinnoull, alongside co-venturer JX Nippon Exploration and Production (U.K.) Limited (22.94%). Andrew is operated by BP, with a 62.75% interest, with co-venturers JX Nippon (27.39%) and Talisman-Sinopec (9.86%).