Alwyn North

Alwyn North Oil and Gas Field Profile

Location and Geology

• The Alwyn North Oil and Gas Field is located offshore in the United Kingdom, specifically in the North Sea.
• The field is part of the Alwyn complex and is situated in blocks 3/9a and 3/4a, with coordinates 60.7991, 1.743 (WGS 84).

Discovery and Production

• The Alwyn North Field was discovered in 1975.
• The Final Investment Decision (FID) was made in 1982, and oil and gas production commenced by the end of 1987.
• Initial oil production was above 100,000 barrels per day (b/d), and the gas export capacity was 9 million cubic meters per day (cu m/d) to fulfill the maximum daily delivery requirement to British Gas under a long-term gas sales contract.

Operator and Ownership

• The field is operated by Totalenergies Upstream UK Limited, and TotalEnergies E&P UK holds 100% ownership.

Production and Reserves

• Current Production:
  • As of 2022, the field produced 0.81 million barrels of oil per year and 334.94 million cubic meters of gas per year.
  • Historical production data shows that in 2019, the field produced 1.62 million barrels of oil per year and 497.99 million cubic meters of gas per year.
• Reserves:
  • Remaining recoverable reserves as of 2022 include 7.66 million barrels of crude oil and condensate, and 2,774.74 million cubic meters of gas.

Infrastructure and Development

• The Alwyn North Field is developed using twin platforms, and it serves as a central hub for the surrounding fields, including the Dunbar and Ellon fields. These satellite fields were developed later, with production from the Dunbar platform and Ellon subsea wells starting at the end of 1994.
• Production from Dunbar and Ellon is commingled and exported via a 22-km, 16-inch multiphase insulated pipeline to the Alwyn North platforms, where receiving facilities are installed.
• To maximize the life of the field, various new projects and technologies have been implemented, including cost-cutting measures, injection techniques, and horizontal drainage. A new transportation and processing agreement was negotiated with the Brent pipeline system, and a new Alwyn liquid export pipeline was installed between Alwyn and the Shell-operated Cormorant Alpha platform.

Operational Efficiency and Cost Management

• Significant efforts have been made to reduce operating expenditures and maximize the life of the field. This includes focused business planning, systematic reviews of opportunities and constraints, and the implementation of new technologies and processes.
• The operating budget for the entire Alwyn complex, including the new Dunbar platform and Ellon subsea facilities, has been maintained at pre-Dunbar startup levels despite the new developments. The capital expenditure for the current three-year work program is approximately £120 million per annum.

Future Outlook

• The investments and new projects are expected to increase recoverable reserves and maintain the production plateau at 45-50 million barrels of oil equivalent (Mboe) per year until 2005. Operating expenditure has progressively improved to upper quartile performance and is expected to remain there.

Additional Developments

• The field's production and operational efficiency have been enhanced through proactive approaches to product valuation and the use of a simple business model to maximize the netback value of products (stabilized crude oil, LPG, and sales gas) through the two export systems.