Breagh

Breagh Gas Field Profile

Location and Geology

The Breagh gas field is situated in the Southern North Sea, approximately 65 km north-east of the UK coast. It is located in blocks 42/13a and 42/12a at a water depth of about 62 metres (or 194 feet).

The field is a conventional Carboniferous reservoir, indicating it is based on geological formations from the Carboniferous period.

Discovery and History

The Breagh field was discovered in July 1997 by the discovery well 42/13-2, which encountered a 121m gas column. An earlier well, 42/13-1, drilled by BP in 1968, was declared commercially non-viable.

Key milestones include:

• 2009: RWE Dea acquired a 70% stake in the field.
• 2010: Heerema was awarded the contract for the construction of the jacket, topsides, and piles.
• 2011: Government approval was granted, and the Breagh A platform was successfully installed.
• 2013: First gas production began.
• 2015: INEOS announced the acquisition of RWE Dea's share in the field.

Field Development

The Breagh field is being developed in two phases:

Phase One:

• Development began in 2011.
• The Breagh A platform, a normally unmanned installation (NUI), was installed at the west side of the field in October 2011.
• Eight production wells were drilled from the platform.
• Gas is exported through an offshore pipeline to Cotham Sands, Redcar, and then via a 10km onshore pipeline to the Teesside Gas Processing Plant (TGPP) for further processing and delivery into the UK National Transmission System.

Phase Two:

• Approved by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in July 2011.
• This phase involves the installation of another NUI, Breagh Bravo, at the east end of the field.
• Additional wells will be drilled from the new platform and tied back to Breagh Alpha.

Infrastructure and Operations

• Breagh A Platform:

  • The platform features a 85m-tall jacket supported by piles weighing 4,000t, with topsides weighing 1,400t.
  • It includes a 10t diesel crane, a helideck, 12 well slots, a gas production manifold, and seven risers.
  • The platform has overnight accommodation for 12 people.

• Subsea System:

  • The subsea production systems include dry Christmas-trees, production piping, and a production manifold.
  • Gas and fluids flow from the Christmas-trees through the flow lines to the manifold and then to the onshore processing facility via the export riser.

• Processing and Transmission:

  • The Teesside Gas Processing Plant (TGPP) at Seal Sands has a capacity to process 11.3 million cubic metres of natural gas per day and can meet up to 10% of the UK’s gas demand.

Ownership and Partners

• The field is currently operated by INEOS with a 70% interest.
• Sterling Resources owns the remaining 30% interest.

Production

• First gas from the field was achieved in October 2013 with a total flow rate of 2.75 million cubic metres of gas per day.
• The field currently produces at an annual rate of 1.1 billion cubic metres of gas during phase one.
• Recent developments include the start-up of a new onshore electric-drive compressor at TGPP, which will increase gas flows with a lower carbon footprint.

Environmental and Technological Advancements

• The field is noted for having one of the lowest carbon intensities of gas fields in the UK.
• The introduction of an electric-driven compressor at TGPP aims to reduce the carbon footprint of gas production.

Contracts and Contractors

• Key contractors include Heerema for the construction of the jacket, topsides, and piles; Allseas for the engineering, installation, and pre-commissioning of the offshore pipeline and fibre-optic cable; and AMEC for modifying and extending the gas processing plant.

Development Costs

The Breagh field development is estimated to have cost approximately £1 billion.