Burghley

Location

The Burghley oil field is located in the central North Sea, specifically in Block 16/22.

The field was originally operated by Talisman, but following changes in ownership, Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited is now involved in its management.
The partners in the field include:
- Repsol Sinopec North Sea Limited: 29.895%
- Repsol Sinopec Beta Limited: 7.0841%
- NEO Energy Petroleum Limited: 21.9203%
- Rockrose UKCS4 Limited: 41.1006%
- Note: Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. is mentioned in historical contexts but currently holds no equity interest.

The field comprises a single subsea production well.
The well is tied back to the Balmoral template, which is approximately 9 km north-east of the well location.
The production is facilitated through a 10” production pipeline, a piggybacked 4” gas lift pipeline, and an umbilical. These pipelines and the umbilical are trenched and buried, with rock placement at crossings and where required to prevent upheaval buckling.

The hydrocarbons produced from the Burghley field were exported via the Balmoral Floating Production Vessel (FPV), which was operated by Premier Oil.
From the FPV, the hydrocarbons were exported through the Forties Pipeline System.

Production from the Burghley field ceased in November 2020.
The Balmoral FPV has already been removed from the field.
Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited is currently in the process of decommissioning the field. This involves submitting draft Decommissioning Programmes (DPs) to the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) for approval. The decommissioning activities include the removal of subsea installations, flowlines, and umbilicals.

The decommissioning activities are supported by a Comparative Assessment (CA) Report and an Environmental Appraisal (EA) Report.
The sensitivity of birds to surface oil pollution within the project area ranges from low to medium throughout the year.