North Morecambe

North Morecambe Oil and Gas Field Profile

Location

The North Morecambe Oil and Gas Field is located offshore in the United Kingdom, specifically in the East Irish Sea. It is approximately 26 km west of Blackpool, northwest of England, and lies across blocks 110/2a, 110/3a, 110/8a, and 113/27b. The field is in water depths ranging from 17 to 35 meters.

Discovery and Production

• The North Morecambe field was discovered in 1976.
• Production commenced in 1994.

Operator and Ownership

• The field is operated by Spirit Energy, although it was previously managed by Centrica PLC before the transition.

Field Development

• The North Morecambe field is part of the Morecambe Hub, which also includes the South Morecambe and Rhyl fields.
• The development includes the normally unmanned DPPA platform, which acts as the main gathering hub for the area. There are 10 development wells and a 12” pipeline that exports gas to the Barrow Gas Terminals.

Infrastructure

• Gas from the North Morecambe field is processed at the Barrow Gas Terminals, located near Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, before entry into the National Transmission System.
• The North Morecambe Terminal, which came online in 1994, is designed to process gas from the field and has the capacity to handle gas from both North and South Morecambe fields, as well as other relevant fields.

Production and Reserves

• The field primarily produces gas; as of 2019, there was no oil production reported.
• The annual gas production from the North Morecambe field was approximately 175.76 million cubic meters in 2019.
• The estimated ultimate recoverable reserves (EUR) for gas were around 27,900 million cubic meters as of 2005.

Processing and Technology

• The North Morecambe terminal is equipped to handle gas with high concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2). It uses cryogenic processing for N2 removal and an H2O-polishing dehydration unit to meet the National Transmission System's Wobbe index requirements.
• The terminal employs BASF's Sorbead HRU technology to remove water and selectively remove C7+ hydrocarbons from the gas, achieving a high cricondentherm (CHDP) of -10°C.

Environmental and Operational Aspects

• The field operations are managed with a focus on environmental performance. Initiatives include minimizing waste, maximizing reuse and recycling, and reducing emissions. For example, a project to link the South and North Morecambe Terminals aimed to increase efficiency and reduce CO2, NOx, and carbon monoxide emissions.
• Despite being in production for almost 40 years, the Morecambe Hub, including North Morecambe, remains a significant asset, having produced over 6.5 trillion cubic feet of gas since 1985. The field continues to be a cornerstone of Spirit Energy's portfolio, with plans to extend production into the 2020s.

Recent Developments

• Spirit Energy has initiated decommissioning plans for some of the field’s unmanned drilling platforms and is refurbishing other platforms to extend production.
• The North Morecambe platform was modified to tie in the Millom East/West and Dalton fields, and more recently, the Rhyl field, which came onstream in 2013.