Cormorant East

Cormorant East Oil Field Profile

Location and Geology

• The Cormorant East oil field is situated in the southern part of block 211/22a in the UK northern North Sea.
• The field is located just two kilometres east of the Cormorant North field and lies within the Jurassic Brent Group, specifically in the Tarbert Formation. The reservoir consists of oil-bearing sandstones without any water zone.

Operator and Partners

• The field is operated by TAQA (Abu Dhabi National Energy Company), which acquired a 60% interest in the field through a farm-in agreement in April 2011. TAQA bears the entire drilling and well development costs for Cormorant East.
• Other partners include Dana Petroleum with a 20% interest, Antrim Energy with 8.4%, First Oil with 7.6%, and Bridge Energy with 4%.

Discovery and Development

• The Cormorant East field was discovered in October 2012, with the drilling of a 16,900ft (5,151m) well named 211/21-N94 or the Contender Prospect. This well was drilled from the North Cormorant Platform into the Jurassic Brent sandstones, encountering an oil accumulation estimated to contain between 10 to 30 million barrels of oil.
• The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) approved the field development plan (FDP) in November 2012, and the field was granted Petroleum Revenue Tax (PRT) exemption.
• The field was brought on-stream within 85 days of its discovery, setting a benchmark for rapid development. The first oil from the field was produced on January 10, 2013.

Production and Infrastructure

• The field is currently operated using a single production well tied into the North Cormorant platform. There are plans for potential water injection and additional production wells in the future, as well as appraisal targets identified within the development area.
• The North Cormorant platform, operational since 1982, processes the oil from Cormorant East. This platform has two production trains for the separation of oil, gas, and water, with a design capacity to process around 180,000 barrels of crude per day.
• The processed oil is transported via the Brent System Oil Pipeline to the Sullom Voe terminal for sale. The Brent System Oil Pipeline, acquired by TAQA from BP in 2009, carries around 100,000 barrels of oil from 20 fields in the UK to Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands.

Production Rates and Challenges

• The initial production rate from the Cormorant East field was approximately 5,500 barrels of oil per day.
• Production has been hampered due to ongoing inspection and maintenance activities in the pipeline system following hydrocarbon releases at the Cormorant Alpha platform in January and March 2013.

Decommissioning and Future Plans

• The production profile of Cormorant East is aligned with that of the North Cormorant field, and it is forecast to reach the end of its production life (CoP) at the same time as North Cormorant, currently expected by the end of Q4 2023.
• Plans for decommissioning the North Cormorant platform, which also supports Cormorant East, include the complete removal of the topsides for reuse, recycling, or appropriate disposal.

Historical Context and Integration

• The Cormorant East field is part of a larger complex that includes the North and South Cormorant fields, which were discovered in 1972 and have been operational since the late 1970s and early 1980s.
• TAQA acquired the Cormorant North and South Cormorant fields from Shell and Esso in 2008 and has since invested in maintaining and enhancing production from these fields.