Fulmar oilfield
Encyclopedia
The Fulmar Oilfield is situated 312 km east of Dundee
, Scotland
, United Kingdom
in block number 30/16 and 30/11b. It is operated by Talisman Energy
who took over from the previous operator, Shell at the end of 2006. At this time Talisman also purchased the equity of the other partners ExxonMobil and Amerada Hess. The field was discovered in December 1975 by well 30/16-6 in a water depth of 82 metres. Estimated ultimate recovery is 544 million barrels (86,500,000 m³) of oil. It is named after the fulmar
, a sea bird.
The oil reservoir is located at a depth of 3,050 metres.
The "Fulmar A platform" operates above the oilfield. Production started in February 1982 from the Fulmar 'A' platform. This platform is a steel, 8 legged jacket designed by McDermott Engineering and constructed at Nigg
, Easter Ross
, Scotland
. This jacket weighs 12,400 tonnes and supports a topside weight of around 22,560 tonnes.
The topsides facilities included capability to drill, produce, meter, pump oil and gas. It can also inject both gas and water. Production is exported via the Norpipe
system to Teeside.
Associated natural gas from the reservoir is separated and used to power electrical generation with the excess being transported by the Fulmar Gas Pipeline
to St. Fergus
.
Previously oil was exported by using an oil tanker anchored to the sea bed. The Medora Floating Storage Offloading
(FSO) vessel broke free on the evening of December 24th 1988 narrowly missing the platform in the process.
At that time Fulmar Alpha was host to a BBC crew who, not only, reported on the event but later delivered a live watchnight service broadcast from the platform in memory of the Piper Alpha disaster. Some of the same BBC crew having come directly from reporting on the Lockerbie disaster.
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
, 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...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in block number 30/16 and 30/11b. It is operated by Talisman Energy
Talisman Energy
Talisman Energy Inc. is one of Canada's largest petroleum SB companies. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Talisman Energy has operations around the globe including: Canada and the United States of America in North America; Colombia and Peru in South America; Algeria in North Africa; United Kingdom,...
who took over from the previous operator, Shell at the end of 2006. At this time Talisman also purchased the equity of the other partners ExxonMobil and Amerada Hess. The field was discovered in December 1975 by well 30/16-6 in a water depth of 82 metres. Estimated ultimate recovery is 544 million barrels (86,500,000 m³) of oil. It is named after the fulmar
Fulmar
Fulmars are seabirds of the family Procellariidae. The family consists of two extant species and two that are extinct.-Taxonomy:As members of Procellaridae and then the order Procellariiformes, they share certain traits. First, they have nasal passages that attach to the upper bill called...
, a sea bird.
The oil reservoir is located at a depth of 3,050 metres.
The "Fulmar A platform" operates above the oilfield. Production started in February 1982 from the Fulmar 'A' platform. This platform is a steel, 8 legged jacket designed by McDermott Engineering and constructed at Nigg
Nigg
-Places:Antarctica* Nigg RockScotland* Nigg, Aberdeen* Nigg, Highland, a village in Easter Ross, Highland; on Nigg Bay, in the Cromarty Firth-See also:* Nigg Stone, a Pictish carved stone in Easter Ross* Nigga, a hip-hop term.* Nigger, a racial slur....
, Easter Ross
Easter Ross
Easter Ross is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituency and a Scottish Parliament constituency...
, 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...
. This jacket weighs 12,400 tonnes and supports a topside weight of around 22,560 tonnes.
The topsides facilities included capability to drill, produce, meter, pump oil and gas. It can also inject both gas and water. Production is exported via the Norpipe
Norpipe
Norpipe is the undersea oil and natural gas pipeline's system in the North Sea. It supplies oil from the Norwegian Ekofisk and associated fields in the North Sea to the United Kingdom and natural gas to Germany.-Oil pipeline:...
system to Teeside.
Associated natural gas from the reservoir is separated and used to power electrical generation with the excess being transported by the Fulmar Gas Pipeline
Fulmar Gas Pipeline
The Fulmar Gas Line is a natural gas pipeline, which transports natural gas from the Central North Sea to St Fergus, Scotland. Originally, the pipeline carried natural gas from Fulmar and Clyde fields...
to St. Fergus
St. Fergus
St Fergus is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly in the county of Banffshire. St Fergus lies a mile from the North Sea coast and three miles northwest of Peterhead...
.
Previously oil was exported by using an oil tanker anchored to the sea bed. The Medora Floating Storage Offloading
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...
(FSO) vessel broke free on the evening of December 24th 1988 narrowly missing the platform in the process.
At that time Fulmar Alpha was host to a BBC crew who, not only, reported on the event but later delivered a live watchnight service broadcast from the platform in memory of the Piper Alpha disaster. Some of the same BBC crew having come directly from reporting on the Lockerbie disaster.
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...