A North Sea floating production unit is now back in operation in the Gryphon area, more than two years after being damaged in a storm.
Following a major overhaul to the Gryphon A vessel, output is to ramp up to more than 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boepd) in the months ahead.
She was damaged in the storm in February 2011 when four anchor chains broke and the vessel moved off station 175 miles north-east of Aberdeen. While she was taken to a shipyard in Rotterdam for repairs and upgrades, damaged subsea equipment was removed and replaced.
Operator Maersk Oil UK also took the opportunity to acquire an extensive 4D seismic programme over the wider Gryphon area, plus gained operatorship of the Maclure field and conducted a drilling campaign on Tullich.
Maersk Oil UK managing director Martin Rune Pedersen said yesterday: “The storm and resultant damage was a distressing and unwelcome event but, along with critical repairs, we have succeeded in using this incident to bring forward an upgrade of the installation and extend the productive life of Gryphon for another decade.
“The sheer size of this major reinstatement project should not be underestimated; with significant overhauls and upgrades to tanks, positioning and mooring systems, process control, power management and the subsea infrastructure.
“Managing a major and challenging redevelopment like this in less than two and a half years with a first-rate safety record was a significant achievement by the project team.”
Parent Maersk Oil is not putting a figure on the cost of the work to the Gryphon A vessel. A spokeswoman said: “It is confidential.
“The Gryphon upgrade has addressed both repairs caused by the storm and extending the life of the asset. Allocation of costs between the two is currently subject to negotiation between Maersk Oil and its insurers and so this information is commercially sensitive at present.”
Maersk Oil is targeting daily worldwide production for itself of 400,000 barrels a day by 2020.
Mr Pedersen added: “Contributing to Maersk Oil’s overall target, our ambition in the UK is to double production to 80,000-100,000boepd within seven years.
“Bringing the Gryphon field back into production is key to the initial phase of this plan. During the last two years, we have revaluated field potential using new seismic data. We are looking forward to a high level of drilling activity over the next couple of years, allowing us to maximise value from the reservoirs.”
The Gryphon area comprises the Gryphon, North and South Gryphon, Tullich and Maclure fields.
All are tied back to the Gryphon A vessel.