UK announces 22 oil and gas projects in coming years

The UK North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has announced plans to progress 22 oil and gas projects which would target 1.5 billion barrels.

Managing directors of the 22 largest North Sea operators heard at the NSTA’s recent Tier Zero performance review meeting that seven projects, capable of producing almost 100 million barrels and requiring about £1.1 billion of expenditure, have been approved since the start of 2022.

At last year’s Tier Zero performance review, the NSTA challenged operators to get their production efficiency back on track after a drop of seven percentage points to 73% in 2021 amid widespread maintenance shutdowns. Production efficiency, which indicates how well companies are using their assets, went up to 78% in 2022.

‘The NSTA will continue working with operators to help them restore it to the longstanding target of 80%,’ said the NSTA.

Operators must meet the North Sea Transition Deal target of lowering overall production emissions by 50% by 2030 in order to preserve their social licence to operate. ‘The NSTA expects decisions to be made this year on the preferred development options for at least two electrification projects,’ it added.

The NSTA said it will soon announce awards for the UK’s first ever carbon storage licensing round, which received 26 bids from 19 companies.

‘Additional licensing rounds will be needed to meet the UK’s storage requirements and the NSTA is collaborating with government and other regulators to determine the timing of future activities.’

Companies licensed to drill in the North Sea will be required to report findings to the UK regulator to develop a more comprehensive picture of the UK’s carbon capture and storage potential. The new powers for the NSTA will be brought forward in an amendment to the UK Energy Bill.

Briefs

TGS has won a contract for an ocean bottom node survey in the North Sea. The survey is planned to mobilise in Q3 2023 with a project duration of 1-2 months.

CNOOC has launched a bidding round for eight blocks offshore China covering an area of 18,464 km2. One block is in Donghai Basin with acreage of 4000 km2, five blocks are in Pearl River Mouth Basin with acreage of 12,793km2, one block is in Beibu Bay Basin with acreage of 1077 km2, and one block is in Qiongdongnan Basin with acreage of 594 km2 Closing date for bids in 31 January, 2024.

PXGEO has won a contract from Petrobras for a 3D ocean bottom node (OBN) survey in the Campos Basin, Brazil. The survey is to be acquired in water depths of 2300 m with a duration of 10 months.

The EMGS vessel Atlantic Guardian was warm stacked for the entire second quarter. Utilisation for the quarter was 0% compared with 18% for the second quarter 2022. EMGS had one vessel in operation and recorded three vessel months in the quarter. In the second quarter 2022, the company recorded three vessel months. The company expects to report $0.1 million in multi-client revenues for Q2 2023.

Avangrid has awarded TDI-Brooks a shallow water geotechnical site investigation survey at block OCS-A-0508 off the US East Coast, also known as Kitty Hawk Wind. Data collected will inform the design of the export cable and inter-array packages.

Hartshead Resources is mobilising for a geotechnical survey across the Anning and Somerville fields, offshore UK. The company will deploy Geoquip Marine Operations, a 83-m Class 2 dynamic positioning offshore survey vessel, with specialist deep seabed testing and borehole testing capability. The survey will confirm seabed and sub seabed soil conditions to finalise design of offshore facilities.

Energy Transition Briefs

Plans for phase one of a green hydrogen production, storage and distribution facility in Aberdeen, UK, powered by renewable energy, have been approved. The Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub is being delivered by bp Aberdeen Hydrogen Energy Limited (bpAHEL) – a joint venture between bp and Aberdeen City Council. Phase one is targeting production from 2025, delivering over 800 kg of green hydrogen per day.

TotalEnergies has agreed with Petronas and Mitsui to develop a carbon storage project offshore Malaysia. The partners will evaluate several CO2 storage sites in the Malay Basin, including both saline aquifers and depleted offshore fields.

Copenhagan Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has agreed to invest $350 million into offshore wind projects in Korea. The projects include both fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind and are located in the Jeonnam Province, including Shinan County, Yeonggwang County, and the Ulsan region.

The UK North Sea Transition Authority has offered an additional licence as part of the UK’s first carbon storage licensing round, which opened in June 2022 and closed to applicants in September 2022. All applications have now been assessed, with a total of 21 offers made.

Flour Corporation has signed an agreement with the CO2 mineral storage operator Carbfix to pursue integrated CCS solutions. Fluor will provide its Econamine FG Plus carbon capture technology. Carbfix’s technology dissolves CO2 in water and injects it into porous basaltic rock formations, where natural processes cause the CO2 to form stable carbonate minerals within two years. The agreement covers other CO2 removal projects such as direct air capture and bioenergy carbon capture and storage.

The Danish Energy Agency has published plans to procure 6 GW and 3 GW of offshore wind at Energy Island Bornholm, before the end of 2030.