An Aberdeenshire firm is on the verge of launching the world’s first floating unmanned oil platform system in the North Sea after striking a deal with an engineering giant.
Banchory-based Unmanned Production Buoy (UPB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Amec for engineering, procurement, construction management and asset support services to help deliver the first three unmanned oil production platforms on the UK Continental Shelf.
The technology could be key to unlocking marginal fields in the region, and the total cost of UPB’s European programme has been estimated at £756million.
The Department for Energy and Climate Change awarded the Angus, Fife Fergus and Flora fields in the 27th offshore licence round to UPB.
UPB’s first planned project will now be the redevelopment of the Angus and Fife fields. The first commercial units will come on stream in 2016 and the firm is also looking at deploying the system in other fields around Ireland and Denmark in future.
UPB chairman Richard Selwa said: “UPB is delighted to have signed this MOU with Amec, whose technical expertise in offshore engineering and asset support will help us deliver this novel concept. UPB’s vision is rapidly moving from concept to reality and we look forward to a close and mutually beneficial relationship.
“Oil industry and government response to the UPB solution has been highly encouraging and we look forward to providing further updates over the coming months as we develop the first systems and ultimately help maximise global recovery by lowering the economic threshold of marginal fields. Our UPB solution makes many late-life and marginal field offshore assets economically viable.
“The UPB concept provides an attractive solution when capital intensive options such as Floating Production Storage and Offload (FPSO) vessels, and manned installations are uneconomic.” For small, marginal oil fields, there is currently no stand-alone solution that allows economic production.
Existing methods are too expensive and require large field sizes to recoup development costs.
The UPB System unlocks offshore oil fields containing 2million to 15million barrels of recoverable reserves.
The technology – which has been supported by the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise – has already attracted global attention and the company is in advanced discussions in several countries. Alan Johnstone, Amec managing director brownfield and asset management, added: “We are delighted to be working with UPB on this exciting concept which will help to push the boundaries of offshore oil and gas technology in the UK North Sea and beyond.”
