Foinaven oilfield
Encyclopedia
Foinaven oil field is deepwater oil development approximately 190 kilometres (118.1 mi) west of the Shetland Islands
. Together with Schiehallion
, Loyal and Clair
fields it forms the area generally termed as the West of Shetland.
Although the location is described as in the continental shelf
block, in practise Foinaven is the first development made beyond the actual reach of continental shelf.
in partnership with Marathon Oil
. The development of the field was sanctioned in 1994 and the oil production in Foinaven started in November 1997. The phase 1 with 21 wells was completed in 2000. It has the designed oil production capacity of 85000 oilbbl/d of oil.
Oil is produced by subsea wells via a manifold, which passes through rigid flowlines and then flexible risers into a floating production, storage and offloading system (FPSO)
. Surface process facilities consist of two parallel oil separation and gas compression trains with a combined liquid handling capacity of 145000 oilbbl/d of crude oil and 114 Mcuft/d of associated gas.
The FPSO, Petrojarl Foinaven, which is operated by Teekay Petrojarl, has an overall length of 240 metres (787.4 ft) and an oil storage capacity of 300000 barrels (47,696.2 m³). It is permanently stationed in the field and the crude oil is exported by shuttle tankers. Oil is exported primarily to the Flotta
oil terminal in Orkney with smaller amount is going to Tranmere Oil Terminal
on Merseyside
.
Approximately half of the produced associated gas is used for enhanced oil recovery of the field. Another half of natural gas is exported through the West of Shetland pipeline
to the Sullom Voe Terminal
. Some of the exported gas is used as fuel in the Fortum
operated Sullom Voe power station. The remainder is enriched with liquefied petroleum gas and exported to the Magnus platform for enhanced oil recovery in Magnus field.
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...
. Together with Schiehallion
Schiehallion oilfield
The Schiehallion oilfield is a deepwater offshore oilfield approximately west of the Shetland Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Schiehallion and adjacent Loyal field were jointly developed by BP on behalf of the Schiehallion field partners; BP, Shell, Amerada Hess, Murphy Oil, Statoil and...
, Loyal and Clair
Clair oilfield
The Clair oilfield is an oil field on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf located west of Shetland in water depths of up to . It extends over an area of some , covering five licence blocks.-History:...
fields it forms the area generally termed as the West of Shetland.
Field description
Foinaven oil field was discovered in October 1992. It is located in blocks 204/19 and 204/24a of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf in a water depth of 400–600 m (1,312.3–1,968.5 ). Recoverable oil reserves of Foinaven are estimated to be between 250 Moilbbl.Although the location is described as in the continental shelf
Continental shelf
The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...
block, in practise Foinaven is the first development made beyond the actual reach of continental shelf.
Production
The Foinaven field is operated by BP ExplorationBP
BP p.l.c. is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest energy company and fourth-largest company in the world measured by revenues and one of the six oil and gas "supermajors"...
in partnership with Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil
Marathon Oil Corporation is a United States-based oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Principal exploration activities are in the United States, Norway, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and Canada. Principal development activities are in the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway,...
. The development of the field was sanctioned in 1994 and the oil production in Foinaven started in November 1997. The phase 1 with 21 wells was completed in 2000. It has the designed oil production capacity of 85000 oilbbl/d of oil.
Oil is produced by subsea wells via a manifold, which passes through rigid flowlines and then flexible risers into a floating production, storage and offloading system (FPSO)
Floating Production Storage and Offloading
A floating production, storage and offloading unit is a floating vessel used by the offshore industry for the processing of hydrocarbons and for storage of oil. A FPSO vessel is designed to receive hydrocarbons produced from nearby platforms or subsea template, process them, and store oil until it...
. Surface process facilities consist of two parallel oil separation and gas compression trains with a combined liquid handling capacity of 145000 oilbbl/d of crude oil and 114 Mcuft/d of associated gas.
The FPSO, Petrojarl Foinaven, which is operated by Teekay Petrojarl, has an overall length of 240 metres (787.4 ft) and an oil storage capacity of 300000 barrels (47,696.2 m³). It is permanently stationed in the field and the crude oil is exported by shuttle tankers. Oil is exported primarily to the Flotta
Flotta
Flotta is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying in Scapa Flow. The island is known for its large oil terminal and is linked by Orkney Ferries to Houton on the Orkney Mainland and Lyness and Longhope on Hoy....
oil terminal in Orkney with smaller amount is going to Tranmere Oil Terminal
Tranmere Oil Terminal
Tranmere Oil Terminal is situated on the River Mersey, 1½ miles south of Birkenhead. It was opened on 8 June 1960 to handle vessels of up to 65,000 tons, and is connected to the Stanlow Oil Refinery by a 15-mile pipeline...
on Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
.
Approximately half of the produced associated gas is used for enhanced oil recovery of the field. Another half of natural gas is exported through the West of Shetland pipeline
West of Shetland pipeline
The West of Shetland Pipeline is a pipeline system which transports natural gas from three offshore fields in the West of Shetland area to Sullom Voe Terminal on the Shetland Isles of Scotland.-West of Shetland area:...
to the Sullom Voe Terminal
Sullom Voe Terminal
The Sullom Voe Terminal is an oil and liquefied gas terminal at Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It handles production from oilfields in the North Sea and East Shetland Basin...
. Some of the exported gas is used as fuel in the Fortum
Fortum
Fortum Oyj is a Finnish publicly listed energy company, which focuses on the Nordic and Baltic countries, Poland and the north-west of Russia. After acquisition of Russian energy company TGC-10 in year 2008, Western Siberia has become an important operating area for Fortum. The head of the company...
operated Sullom Voe power station. The remainder is enriched with liquefied petroleum gas and exported to the Magnus platform for enhanced oil recovery in Magnus field.