West of Shetland driving the UK’s offshore future

Sept. 11, 2018
Production is set to grow west of Shetland over the next decade, according to Wood Mackenzie.

Offshore staff

LONDON – Production is set to grow west of Shetland over the next decade, according to Wood Mackenzie.

“The majority of UK oil reserves for BP, Shell, and Chevron are located west of Shetland, and four projects in the province will drive UK production growth through the 2020s - Clair Ridge, Clair South, Cambo and Rosebank,” said North Sea upstream analyst Kevin Swann.

“The west of Shetland is also under explored, with less than 160 exploration wells drilled in the region to date. Other UK regions have had more than 500 wells drilled.”

If Siccar Point has exploration success with its well on the 1.4-tcfLyon gas prospect, this could create a new northern gas hub in the area, he added, potentially also unlocking a further 300 bcf of discovered gas that is currently stranded.

Other projects, such asSiccar Point’s Cambo oil development, will add infrastructure that could serve as a potential export route for any future discoveries.

“Fractured basement is the big wildcard,” Swann concluded. “With an estimated 2.8 Bboe of contingent resource in Hurricane Energy’s fractured basement portfolio, all eyes will be on theLancaster early production system, which is due to start production early 2019.”

09/11/2018