British oil company BP has received support from the UK authorities to proceed with the development of the Alligin field, west of Shetland.
According to BP, the field will target 20 million barrels of oil equivalent and is expected to produce 12 crude barrels of oil equivalent per day at peak.Alligin is located 140 kilometers west of Shetland at a depth of 475 meters water. It forms part of the Greater Schiehallion area. The Alligin development will consist of two wells, which will be connected to the existing Schiehallion and Loyal subsea infrastructure, using the processing and export facilities of the Floating Storage, Production Storage (FPSO) vessel Glen Lyon. It is expected to come into operation in 2020.
BP said the wells would be drilled using Odfjel Drilling's Deepsea Aberdeen semi-submersible drilling rig.
Alligin Field – BP Source
Ariel Flores, BP's regional president for the North Sea, said: “Alligin is part of our privileged oil story, rescuing stranded reserves and locking them back into existing infrastructure. Developments like this have shorter design cycles, allowing us to bring new production faster. These subsea tiebacks complement our great start-ups and reinforce BP's commitment to the North Sea. ”
Brenda Wyllie, West of Shetland and Northern Sea Area Manager at the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), an approval giving body, said: “The Oil and Gas Authority is pleased to consent to the development of the Alligin field. This accelerated project will maximize economic recovery through capacity utilization on the FPSO Glen Lyon and is a good example of the competitive advantage available to operators of the extensive infrastructure installed on the UKCS. ”
BP owns a 50 percent stake in the Alligin field, with its partner Shell holding the remaining 50 percent.
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