Cormorant oilfield
Encyclopedia
The Cormorant oilfield is located 161 kilometres (100 mi) north east of Lerwick
, Shetland
, Scotland
, in block number 211/26a. It was discovered in September 1972 at a depth of 150 metres (492.1 ft). Estimated recovery is 90 Moilbbl of oil. The oil reservoir is located at a depth of 2895 metres (9,498 ft).
and licensed to Shell/Esso
. On 7 July 2008, it was purchased by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
.
type. It has four legs and storage capacity for 1 Moilbbl of oil. The total sub-structure weight is 294,655 tonnes and it is designed to carry a topsides weight of 32,350 tonnes.
The topsides facilities included capability to drill, produce, meter and pump oil. It also has capability to re-inject water to maintain reservoir pressure. Peak production was 24000 oilbbl/d in 1979. The platform is also the starting point for the Brent System
pipeline, a major communications centre and the location of Brent Log - air traffic control for Northern North Sea helicopter traffic.
In addition an Underwater Manifold Centre (controlled from the Cormorant platform also produces oil. This started up in mid 1983. It has a design capacity for 50000 oilbbl/d. The UMC lost communications several years ago but a project ongoing in 2006 is looking to produce from the UMC once again. Also a single satellite well (P1) is linked to the platform with a design capacity of 10000 oilbbl/d.
Natural gas is exported from Cormorant Alpha via the Vesterled
gas pipeline which connect into the FLAGS
pipeline at Brent Alpha to St Fergus Gas Terminal.
Lerwick
Lerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...
, Shetland
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, in block number 211/26a. It was discovered in September 1972 at a depth of 150 metres (492.1 ft). Estimated recovery is 90 Moilbbl of oil. The oil reservoir is located at a depth of 2895 metres (9,498 ft).
Ownership
Originally, it was operated by ShellRoyal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
and licensed to Shell/Esso
ExxonMobil
Exxon Mobil Corporation or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil. Its headquarters are in Irving, Texas...
. On 7 July 2008, it was purchased by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company
The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, PJSC is a government controlled energy holding company of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates....
.
Production
Production started in December 1979 from the Cormorant Alpha platform. This platform is a concrete gravity platform of the CondeepCondeep
Condeep refers to a make of gravity base structure for oil platforms developed and fabricated by Norwegian Contractors in Stavanger, Norway. A Condeep usually consists of a base of concrete oil storage tanks from which one, three or four concrete shafts rise...
type. It has four legs and storage capacity for 1 Moilbbl of oil. The total sub-structure weight is 294,655 tonnes and it is designed to carry a topsides weight of 32,350 tonnes.
The topsides facilities included capability to drill, produce, meter and pump oil. It also has capability to re-inject water to maintain reservoir pressure. Peak production was 24000 oilbbl/d in 1979. The platform is also the starting point for the Brent System
Brent System
The Brent System pipeline transports oil from the North Sea oilfields via Cormorant Alpha to the Sullom Voe Terminal in Shetland, Scotland. Oil is transported from 20 oilfields, including:* Thistle* Murchison* Hutton* North West Hutton* Dunlin...
pipeline, a major communications centre and the location of Brent Log - air traffic control for Northern North Sea helicopter traffic.
In addition an Underwater Manifold Centre (controlled from the Cormorant platform also produces oil. This started up in mid 1983. It has a design capacity for 50000 oilbbl/d. The UMC lost communications several years ago but a project ongoing in 2006 is looking to produce from the UMC once again. Also a single satellite well (P1) is linked to the platform with a design capacity of 10000 oilbbl/d.
Natural gas is exported from Cormorant Alpha via the Vesterled
Vesterled
Vesterled is a natural gas pipeline system, which runs from the Heimdal field in the North Sea to St Fergus Gas Plant near Peterhead in Scotland. The name Vesterled is the term used by the Vikings for their westward voyages, i.e...
gas pipeline which connect into the FLAGS
FLAGS
The FLAGS pipeline is a natural gas pipeline in the North Sea which is used to transport liquids and associated gas from the following fields:* Cormorant A* North Cormorant* North West Hutton...
pipeline at Brent Alpha to St Fergus Gas Terminal.
Cormorant A salvage 1977
A Norwegian organisation states that the Cormorant A platform almost sank in 1977 during its construction in Norway. This was disputed in a TV documentary on 7 May 2007.See also
- Energy policy of the United KingdomEnergy policy of the United KingdomThe current energy policy of the United Kingdom is set out in the Energy White Paper of May 2007 and Low Carbon Transition Plan of July 2009, building on previous work including the 2003 Energy White Paper and the Energy Review Report in 2006...
- Energy use and conservation in the United KingdomEnergy use and conservation in the United KingdomEnergy use in the United Kingdom stood at 3,894.6 kilogrammes of oil equivalent per capita in 2005 compared to a world average of 1,778.0. In 2008, total energy consumed was 9.85 exajoules - around 2% of the estimated 474 EJ worldwide total...