Marathon-operated Brae is arguably the most outstanding UKCS example of how an offshore asset can expand from a single platform with an export pipeline to a major infrastructure hub.
Outwith the US Gulf of Mexico Shelf, Brae was probably the first hub and spoke style development of stature, and today, approaching 30 separate fields are tied back to the so called Greater Brae infrastructure – far more than was envisaged at the outset.
Marathon started to piece together Brae via a succession of discoveries, notably the North sector in 1975, Central sector in 1976 and South in 1977. First commercial oil was from Brae South in 1983, based on the Brae A platform. This later became host for the underlying South Brae field and the adjacent Central Brae and West Brae fields. The North Brae field and the East Brae field are gas/condensate fields.
The strategic location of the Brae A, Brae B and East Brae platforms and connecting pipeline infrastructure has generated a huge amount of third-party processing and transportation business since 1986, just three years after the first phase came onstream, and the network has been growing ever since.
BP-operated Miller was the first third-party opportunity to be tied into Brae infrastructure, coming onstream in 1992. This was followed by ENI’s Tiffany (T-block) development in 1993; Larch, Andrew and Kingfisher in 1997, and Britannia in 1998. Further examples include Venture’s Trees field in 2003 and Oilexco’s Brenda field via Balmoral in 2007.
Currently, there are well over 20 agreements with third-party fields to use the Brae system. In addition to generating processing and pipeline tariff revenue, this third-party business has what Marathon describes as a “favourable impact” on Brae area operations by optimising infrastructure usage and extending the economic life of the facilities.
Export of Brae liquids is via the Marathon-operated Brae-Forties pipeline.
As for production, up to and including year to date, Brae has produced about 1.1billion barrels oil equivalent – substantially more than the first reserves estimate for the sister reservoirs.
The Brae infrastructure has transported and processed more than 2billion barrels oil equivalent from Brae and third parties.
For May, 2007, through April, 2008, average daily production has been:
Brae platform processed fields (Brae 16/7a, 16/3a, Braemar, Enoch, Trees) – 112,324 barrels oil equivalent (boe).
Brae platform processed plus transportation liquids into Brae-Forties (Andrew, Balmoral, Heimdal, Miller, T-block), plus Britannia input at SAGE inlet, plus A&C input at SAGE inlet – 283,632 boe.