Captain

Project Overview

The Captain EOR Stage 2 Phase II Project is part of a larger Enhanced Oil Recovery initiative for the Captain oil field. This project is managed by Ithaca Energy and its co-venturers. The overall goal is to increase oil recovery from the existing field through advanced techniques.

Phases and Stages

• The Captain EOR Project has been split into several stages, including an initial pilot study, Stage 1, and Stage 2. Stage 2 is further divided into Phase I and Phase II.
• The current focus is on Stage 2 Phase II, which involves specific activities and infrastructure developments.

Key Activities

• Drilling Operations:
  • Drilling of six new subsea polymer injection wells across two new drill centres (Area D and Area E).
  • Drilling of one new production well at an existing drill centre (Area B).

Infrastructure and Installations

• Subsea Infrastructure:
  • Installation and commissioning of polymer injection flowlines and control umbilicals between the existing Captain Bridge Linked Platform (BLP) and the new wells. These will be jet trenched and buried.
  • Modifications to the topsides of the BLP, the Wellhead Protection Platform (WPP), and the Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.

Production and Processing

• Fluid Flow and Processing:
  • Area C fluids will flow to the BLP for processing, then to the FPSO via the WPP for further processing and storage.
  • Captain crude oil is offloaded from the FPSO to a dynamically positioned shuttle tanker and transported to onward sales points.
  • Captain gas is exported and imported via a subsea pipeline connecting to the Frigg U.K. gas transportation system and then to the St Fergus gas terminal.

Environmental Impact and Regulations

• The project is subject to the Offshore Oil and Gas Exploration, Production, Unloading and Storage (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2020.
• An Environmental Statement (ES) has been prepared to support the application for consent, which includes a public consultation and a comprehensive review by various regulatory bodies, including the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED).

Decommissioning

• The project also includes plans for decommissioning, which is an integral part of the overall project lifecycle.

Historical Context

• Since early field life, produced water has been injected at Captain to maintain reservoir pressure and provide reservoir sweep.
• Polymer solution injection was proposed in the original Captain Field Development Plan (FDP) and was included as part of the original facilities design to enable a field trial.