Beryl

Beryl Oil Field Profile

Location and Geography

• The Beryl Oil Field is located in the North Sea, approximately 200 miles northeast of Aberdeen, UK.
• It is situated in blocks 9/13a, 9/13b, 9/13c, and 9/13d, with a water depth of about 390 feet (though one source mentions 1,266 feet, this appears to be an error).

Operator and Ownership

• The field is currently operated by APA Corp (formerly Apache), which acquired the operating interests from Mobil North Sea Limited (ExxonMobil) in 2011.
• The ownership structure includes APA Corp and Harbour Energy. Historically, other owners have included Hess Ltd., Enterprise Oil Ltd., and OMV (U.K.) Ltd..

Production Infrastructure

• The Beryl Area includes 12 fields that utilize the same production infrastructure, including the Ness, Nevis, Buckland, and Skene fields.
• There are two main production platforms:
  • Beryl Alpha: A 40-slot twin drilling rig, three-leg concrete structure with storage capacity for over 1 million barrels of oil.
  • Beryl Bravo: A 21-slot single drilling rig steel-jacket structure with an oil export line to the Beryl Alpha platform.

Production History and Volumes

• The field was discovered in 1972, with the Beryl Alpha platform installed in 1976 and the Beryl Bravo platform in 1984.
• Production began in October 1989, with peak production achieved in 1992. As of recent data, the field has recovered 99.32% of its total recoverable reserves.
• In 2012, production reached its highest level since 2001, with a daily output of 11,625 barrels of oil and 13 million cubic feet of gas.
• The field currently accounts for approximately 1% of the UK's daily oil output and is expected to continue production until it reaches its economic limit in 2026.

Geology and Reservoirs

• The field consists of heavily faulted and stratigraphically complex Jurassic and Triassic sandstone reservoir intervals. It includes one primary reservoir (Beryl) and five secondary reservoirs: Katrine/Nevis, Linnhe, Nansen/Eiriksson, Lewis, and Cormorant.

Gas and Oil Export

• Gas is transported via the Scottish Area Gas Evacuation (SAGE) pipeline to the St Fergus Gas Processing Terminal. Gas is also received from the Edvard Grieg Oil and Gas Field in the Norwegian section.
• Oil export is facilitated by tanker loading from a single point mooring.

Expansion and Development Projects

• The field has undergone several development phases, including the installation of subsea wells and the development of satellite fields like the Linnhe Field.
• Recent expansion projects include the Beryl Infill Development Phase 3 and the Beryl Bravo Development Phase 2, which are currently in the feasibility stage.

Contractors and Service Providers

• Several contractors have been involved in the development and maintenance of the Beryl field, including:
  • Norwegian Contractors (Beryl Alpha construction)
  • Emtunga (telecomms module)
  • Saipem (pipelines)
  • Redpath de Groot Caledonian (Beryl Bravo construction)
  • FoundOcean (grouting for platforms)
  • Bibby Offshore (various subsea projects)
  • Expro Group Holdings, Archer, Det Norske Veritas Holding, Esvagt, and Global Engineering and Construction Group (current contractors).

Technological Upgrades

• The field has seen significant technological upgrades, including an extended-reach drilling (ERD) upgrade to enhance drilling capabilities. This upgrade involved extending the drilling radius and maximum working pressure (MWP) capabilities of the Beryl Alpha platform.

Historical Milestones

• 1976: Development of the Beryl Oil Field approved.
• 1983: Installation of Beryl A & B platforms.
• 1985: Approval granted for Nevis field development.
• 1987: Development of Ness field approved.
• 1998: Government approves Buckland field development.
• 2000: Approval granted for Skene field development.
• 2001: Skene Subsea installed.
• 2005: Centrica acquired a stake in Skene & Buckland.
• 2011: Apache completed the acquisition of Mobil North Sea Limited from ExxonMobil.
• 2012: Production reaches highest level since 2001; Shell acquired a stake from Hess.