Sillimanite South

Location

The Sillimanite South field is located in the southern North Sea, specifically within the block D12a of the Netherlands continental shelf. It is part of a cross-border gas field that spans across both the UK and Dutch territorial waters.

Discovery and Development

• The Sillimanite South field was discovered in 2020.
• The field development is part of a larger project that includes the Sillimanite field, with both fields producing gas from sandstone reservoirs of the Carboniferous Age.

Operator and Partners

• Wintershall Noordzee is the operator of the Sillimanite South field, holding a 39.5% interest.
• The other development partners include the Dutch state-owned EBN (50%) and Neptune Energy (10.5%).

Production Details

• The production from the Sillimanite South field began in January 2021.
• The D12-B3 exploration well was converted into a production well as part of the Sillimanite South field development.
• This well is connected to the D12-B production satellite platform, which is the same platform used for the Sillimanite field.

Infrastructure

• The gas produced from the Sillimanite South field is exported from the D12-B platform to the Neptune Energy-operated D15-A production platform via a 12km-long, 10in-diameter pipeline.
• From the D15-A platform, the gas is further exported through the Noordgastransport pipeline to the Uithuizen processing station in the Netherlands.

Reservoir Details

• The gas is produced from sandstone reservoirs of the Carboniferous Age.
• The depth of the reservoir is approximately 3,700 meters below sea level.

Operational Monitoring

• The operations of the Sillimanite South field, along with the Sillimanite field, are monitored from Wintershall Noordzee’s Remote Controlled Operations (RCO) centre in Den Helder, Netherlands.

Contractors Involved

• Maersk Drilling was involved in drilling the wells for the Sillimanite and Sillimanite South fields using the Maersk Resolve drilling rig.
• Fugro conducted geophysical and geotechnical surveys for the well site and pipeline routes.
• Enersea provided engineering consultancy services for the field development project.