The Gannet F oil and gas field is located in the Central North Sea, approximately 180 km east of Aberdeen, UK. It is situated within blocks 21/25, 21/30, 22/21, and 22/26a, at a water depth of about 95 meters.
Operator and Ownership
The field is operated by Shell, with Shell and Esso each holding a 50% ownership stake.
Discovery and Production
The Gannet field was originally discovered in 1973, but the specific development of Gannet F began later. The Final Investment Decision (FID) for Gannet F was made in 1989, and production started in 1997.
Reservoir Characteristics
Gannet F is characterized as an unsaturated oil field without a gas cap. The oil has an API gravity of approximately 40°, which is significantly lighter than the oil in Gannet E.
Estimated reserves: 19 million barrels of oil.
Production Details
Peak production rate: Expected to reach up to 12,000 barrels per day (b/d), though actual peak production was around 18,000 b/d.
Field life: Approximately 14 years.
Production in recent years:
In 2019, the field produced 1.96 million barrels of oil per year and 77.19 million cubic meters of gas per year.
In 2022, production was 0.89 million barrels of oil per year and 20.45 million cubic meters of gas per year.
Infrastructure
Gannet F is developed with a single subsea well tied back to the Gannet A platform via a common subsea pipeline shared with Gannet E. The wells were drilled using the Sedco 704 rig.
The field does not require an electrical submersible pump (ESP) due to the lighter nature of the crude oil, unlike Gannet E.
Processing and Export
The processed oil from Gannet F is exported through an infield pipeline to the Fulmar A installation and then via the Norpipe to Teesside.
Gas is exported through the Fulmar Gas Pipeline to the SEGAL St Fergus Gas Processing Terminal.
Development Costs
The development of Gannet E and F fields together was estimated to cost £80 million (approximately $135 million at the time).
Maintenance and Upgrades
In February 2013, Technip received a contract for the Gannet F reinstatement project, which included the replacement of the flow-line, fabrication and laying of an 11.8 km pipe-in-pipe, installation of a gas lift pipeline, and an 11.9 km umbilical.