Offshore staff

HAMBURG, Germany – RWE Dea UK says development drilling has started on the Clipper South gas field in the UK southern North Sea.

Well 48/19a-C1 is targeting a tight Permian-age Rotliegend reservoir at a depth of around 2,500 m (8,202 ft) and is the first of as many as five extended horizontal wells, each incorporating multiple hydraulically induced fractures.

According to Ralf to Baben, COO of RWE Dea AG, this is a “cutting-edge technology” that the company has applied elsewhere, although is novel to the UK North Sea.

Clipper South, discovered in 1982, is in blocks 48/19 and 48/20, 100 km (60 mi) east of the Lincolnshire coast. It contains an estimated 500 bcf of in-place gas, with first production due to start this summer via a new wellhead platform installed last fall.

Production will head through a pipeline connected to the ConocoPhillips-operated LOGGS offshore complex before arriving at the Theddlethorpe gas terminal in Lincolnshire.

Technip UK will install the 12-in. (30.5-cm) and 3-in. (7.6-cm) pipeline connections to LOGGS in April.

RWE Dea UK is operator of the development, in partnership with Fairfield Acer and Bayerngas UK.

2/16/2012