Offshore staff

(UK)- BP and its partner, Maersk Oil North Sea UK Ltd., recently approved front-end engineering and design (FEED) for the Harding Area Gas Project.

This marks the first stage of a development project that the partners say will prolong the life of the North Sea field by an additional 10-15 years.

The project comprises a new gas processing platform bridge-linked to the existing Harding platform, and will reportedly have the potential to process and export gas at rates of up to 400 MMscf/d.

The project plan also includes a subsea tieback of the Devenick field and a gas export pipeline to connect the new gas platform to the existing Brae gas transmission pipeline.

The FEED contractors are AMEC, JP Kenny, and Production Services Network. The work, which is slated to finish by the end of 2006, has a price tag of approximately $15 million.

"The development of the Harding Area Gas Project would not only help maximize the recovery of gas from the North Sea, but also extend the life of the Harding field beyond 2015," said Gordon Birrell, director and business unit leader for BP's North Sea business. "This would be an exciting new project for BP and the North Sea."

BP is the majority stakeholder (70%) and operator of the Harding field, while Maersk Oil North Sea UK Ltd. holds the remaining 30%. The Harding field currently produces oil at around 30,000 b/d and also includes a substantial undeveloped gas resource. It is located 200 mi northeast of Aberdeen, U.K. in BP-operated block 9/23b in water depths of 360 ft.

Harding was discovered in 1987 and has been producing oil since 1996. Devenick, which was discovered in 1983, is a high-pressure, high-temperature gas discovery. Partners in Devenick are BP (operator) and RWE Dea UK.

07/14/2006