Balmoral

Location and Geographical Details

• The Balmoral Field is located approximately 225 km northeast of Aberdeen in the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) Blocks 16/21a and 16/21b. It is situated in a water depth of 145 meters.

Field and Infrastructure

• The Balmoral Field is part of the Greater Balmoral Area, which includes several subsea fields: Balmoral, Brenda, Nicol, Stirling, and Glamis, all operated by Premier Oil. Additionally, the fields of Burghley and Beauly, operated by Repsol Sinopec North Sea Limited, are also tied back to the Balmoral Floating Production Vessel (FPV).

Production and Export

• Production from the Balmoral field began in November 1986. The hydrocarbons produced are exported via the Forties Pipeline System.

Installations and Equipment

• The main components of the Balmoral field include:
  • The Balmoral FPV, a purpose-built floating platform of the GVA 5000 semi-submersible design, installed in 1986.
  • Balmoral Template and 11 template and 10 satellite wells.
  • A riser system, pipelines, umbilicals, and cables.
  • The FPV is moored by a system made up of eight chains connected to anchor piles.

Decommissioning Programmes

• The Balmoral decommissioning activities are part of the Balmoral Area Decommissioning Project, managed by Premier Oil in Aberdeen. A Cessation of Production (CoP) application was approved by the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) on April 23, 2018. The decommissioning programmes include the removal of installations and pipelines, supported by a Comparative Assessment (CA) of decommissioning options and an Environmental Appraisal (EA).

Regulatory and Stakeholder Engagement

• The decommissioning programmes were developed following public, stakeholder, and regulatory consultation and are submitted in full compliance with the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) and Oil & Gas UK guidelines.

Operators and Licensees

• Premier Oil is the operator for the Balmoral, Brenda, Nicol, Stirling, and Glamis fields. Repsol Sinopec North Sea Limited operates the Burghley and Beauly fields.