RDS, the engineering division of Aberdeen-headquartered KCA Deutag, has been taken on by BP for the Clair Ridge drilling facilities design.
The Clair field is located in UK block 206/8, approximately 75km (46 miles) west of the Shetland Islands in about 140m (460ft) of water. It covers an area of 220sq km.
Phase 1 of the field development included the installation of the export pipeline system and the Clair Phase 1 platform, which was installed in 2004 and achieved first oil in early-2005.
The second phase, the development, Clair Ridge, is targeting the elongated uplifted part of the field to the north of the existing Clair platform.
KCA Deutag said RDS’s design team had been mobilised and started work in early-June. Initially, RDS will provide a team of about 20 engineers based in London.
Subject to project sanction, it is anticipated that the RDS team would continue through detailed design, increasing in number to about 40 engineers.
The Clair Ridge facility will be designed to accommodate at least 28 wells, with a subsea template for a number of predrilled wells subsequently tied back to the platform and the remainder being drilled directly from the platform.
Safety will be paramount in the design process to ensure that the resulting facilities minimise risk to personnel.
Similarly, substantial emphasis is being made to design Clair Ridge to minimise the impact on the natural environment. This will start during the earliest stages of design right through to the installation and commissioning of the facilities.
BP is operator of Clair with a 28.6% interest, in partnership with ConocoPhillips (24%), ChevronTexaco (19.4%), Shell’s Enterprise Oil (18.7%) and Hess (9.3%).