Kraken

Kraken Oil Field Profile

Location and Geology

• The Kraken oil field is located in the East Shetland basin of the UK North Sea, approximately 125 km east of the Shetland Islands and west of the North Viking Graben. It is situated in blocks 9/2b and 9/2c within the P1575 licence.
• The field is at a water depth of about 120 meters (394 feet).
• The Kraken reservoir comprises the Heimdal formation, with the main producing interval being the Heimdal unit III, containing heavy oil of approximately 13.7° API at a depth of around 3,850 feet TVDSS (True Vertical Depth Subsea).

Discovery and Development

• The Kraken oil field was discovered in 1985 by Nautical Petroleum. Appraisal wells were drilled in 2007 and 2008 to further evaluate the field.
• EnQuest acquired a significant stake in the field in 2012, becoming the operator of blocks 9/2b and 9/2c. The UK government approved the £4 billion development project in November 2013.

Production and Reserves

• The Kraken field is estimated to hold around 137 million barrels of heavy oil reserves.
• The field is expected to have a field life of approximately 25 years, with peak production anticipated to be over 50,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Infrastructure and Operations

• The field development utilizes a Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, the Armada Kraken. This FPSO was converted from a Suezmax ice-class tanker and has a storage capacity of 600,000 barrels. It was moored at the field in February 2017 and began production in June 2017.
• The FPSO is designed to handle flow rates of up to 460,000 bpd, accommodating up to 80,000 bpd of oil, 20 MMscf of gas, and 275,000 bpd of water for injection. It features hydraulic subsea pumps (HSPs) for oil production and a triple fuel system involving the direct burning of heavy crude oil.
• The field is developed with seven production wells and six injector wells, with plans for further development into three fields: Kraken North, Kraken Central, and Kraken South.

Contractors and Partners

• The project involves several key contractors:
  • Bumi Armada subsidiary Armada Kraken for the deployment, operation, and maintenance of the FPSO facility.
  • SPX Corporation for the supply of hydraulic subsea pumps (HSPs).
  • Technip for engineering, procurement, installation, and construction (EPCI) services, including the fabrication and installation of pipelines, umbilicals, and risers.
  • Wärtsilä for the topside power module solution.
  • Deltamarin for the basic design of the FPSO vessel.
• The partners in the project are EnQuest (operator, with a 70.5% stake), and Cairn Energy (29.5% stake).

Financial and Operational Highlights

• The capital costs for the project were initially estimated at $3.2 billion but were reduced to $2.5 billion due to efficient planning and execution.
• The project was delivered under budget, benefiting from strong partnerships between the operator and key service providers.

Environmental and Regulatory

• The project received approval from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in November 2013.
• The success of the Kraken project is seen as a potential catalyst for opening up additional heavy-oil opportunities in the northern North Sea.