Merganser

Merganser Oil and Gas Project

Location

The Merganser oil and gas project is located in the central North Sea. Specifically, it is situated in Blocks 22/30, 23/26, and 22/25, approximately 226 km from the Scottish coastline and 25 km from the UK/Norway median line.

Field Characteristics

• The Merganser field is a normal pressure and temperature gas condensate field.
• It was discovered in 1995.
• The field consists of two gas production wells drilled between 2006 and 2007, and the Merganser manifold.
• Reservoir fluids are conveyed to the Shearwater A platform via a 4 km pipeline to the Scoter Manifold Extension Structure (SMES) and then via the Scoter production pipeline.

Infrastructure

• The production wells are connected to the Shearwater platform through an umbilical that provides chemical injection, hydraulic control, and electrical signalling. The umbilical is trenched and buried between Shearwater and Scoter, and naturally backfilled between Scoter and Merganser.

Production History

• Production from the Merganser field started in 2006.
• Approval for the cessation of production (CoP) was received from the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), and production ceased in December 2020.

Decommissioning

• The decommissioning plan includes flushing the chemical cores of the umbilicals and recovering the Scoter riser tie-in spool and associated concrete mattresses for recycling.

Merganser Offshore Floating Solar Project

Location

This project is located off the coast of Ostend in the Belgian North Sea.

Project Overview

• The Merganser project is a pilot for offshore floating solar technology, led by the Dutch-Norwegian company SolarDuck in collaboration with RWE.
• The project aims to integrate floating solar technology with offshore wind energy to enhance energy generation efficiency and address land scarcity for renewable energy.

Technology and Design

• The project uses SolarDuck’s patented floating solar power technology, with a triangular-shaped platform designed to float several meters above the water, following the waves.
• The platform is certified by Bureau Veritas for offshore floating solar and is intended to keep critical electrical components dry, clean, and stable.

Capacity and Funding

• The pilot project has a nameplate capacity of 0.5 MWp and is expected to be installed in 2023.
• The project received a grant of EUR7.8 million from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) to develop, test, and validate the solar energy platform concept in harsh North Sea conditions.

Research and Development

• The project involves collaboration with research institutes such as TU Delft, TNO, MARIN, and Deltares to investigate various aspects including corrosion resistance, UV degradation, marine growth, and the integration of offshore solar and wind energy systems.