Q13a-Amstel

Q13a-Amstel Oil Field Profile

Location

The Q13a-Amstel oil field is located in the Dutch North Sea, approximately 12 kilometers off the coast of Scheveningen, Netherlands. The exact coordinates are 52.19, 4.141 (WGS 84).

Discovery and History

• The Amstel field was discovered in January 1962 by Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) with the drilling of the Q13-1 well, formerly known as the Scheveningen-Zee 1 well.

Ownership and Operator

• The field is operated by Neptune Energy Netherlands B.V. (previously GDF SUEZ E&P Nederland).
• The ownership stakes are divided among:
  • Neptune Energy Netherlands B.V.: 50%
  • Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN): 40%
  • TAQA Offshore B.V.: 10%.

Development

• The final investment decision (FID) for the field development was made in 2011.
• GDF SUEZ drilled an exploration well in 2011, which was appraised in the first quarter of the same year. The field development officially started in 2012.
• The development plan included the installation of an environmentally neutral production platform (Q13a-A) and the drilling of five production wells (four producers and one injection well).

Infrastructure

• The Q13a-A production platform, weighing approximately 2,000 tons, was installed in July 2013 at a depth of 19 meters and is secured by suction anchors on the sea bed. The platform features electrically controlled submersible pumps driven into the production wells at a depth of two kilometers.
• The platform is supplied with green energy from the onshore electricity grid operated by Stedin through a 14.1 km-long high-voltage electricity cable, eliminating the need for a diesel generator. The cable was laid within an existing old Calvé-factory sewer-pipe passing through the seabed.

Production

• The Amstel field began producing oil in February 2014 and is expected to produce approximately 15,000 barrels of oil per day during peak hours.
• As of 2019, the field produced about 0.84 million barrels of oil per year and 10.36 million cubic meters of gas per year. By 2022, the production had decreased to about 0.45 million barrels of oil per year and 6.12 million cubic meters of gas per year.

Processing and Transportation

• The produced oil is transported through a 25 km-long pipeline to the TAQA-operated P15 platform, where it is treated by the oil and gas processing facilities. The processed oil is then transported to a refinery in the Port of Rotterdam through an existing pipeline, avoiding the need for offloading into a tanker.

Reserves

• The field is estimated to contain recoverable reserves of about 15 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Environmental Considerations

• The Q13a-A platform is designed to be environmentally neutral, with a grey color that makes it minimally visible from the shore. The use of electricity from the onshore grid reduces the environmental impact by eliminating the need for diesel generators.

Investment

• The development of the Amstel oil field involved an investment of around €200 million (approximately $274.74 million).

Seismic Surveys and Field Development Plan

• A 3D seismic survey was performed across Block Q13 by NAM in 1993, which was further reprocessed using Pre-Stack Depth Migration in 2009. DHC interpreted the seismic data and designed the field development plan in 2009.