Shell has restarted operations at the Pierce field in the UK Central North Sea, following a “significant upgrade”.
Modifications were made to the Haewene Brim floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), which is used to produce hydrocarbons at the Pierce field.
The upgrade allows gas to be produced at the North Sea field after years of only producing only oil.
Production began its restart in February, with those works now complete.
A new subsea gas export line was also implemented at the site, connecting to the SEGAL pipeline system, which brings gas ashore at St Fergus, north of Aberdeen.
The FPSO, which is owned by Bluewater, stopped producing in October 2021 to make time for the upgrades.
It then spent six months in dry dock where it was transformed into a vessel that could also produce gas, which had previously been re-injected into the reservoir.
Peak production is expected to reach 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, which is more than twice the production prior to the redevelopment, with more gas being produced than oil.
Shell (LON:SHEL) upstream director, Zoe Yujnovich, said “The completion of this major project is testament to Shell’s long-standing commitment to the UK North Sea.
“We took this investment decision in 2019, and it is now increasing locally produced gas right at the time when this additional supply is critically important for the UK’s energy security.
“It’s a source of huge satisfaction when projects like Pierce come to fruition.”
Shell owns a 92.52% share in Pierce while the remaining 7.48% is held by Ithaca Energy.
A final investment decision (FID) was taken on the redevelopment project in 2019, with estimates it would increase production to 30,000 barrels per day.
Alan Bruce, chief executive of Ithaca, added: “We are delighted that operations have resumed at the Pierce field, with the redevelopment project highlighting Ithaca Energy’s commitment to invest in the UK North Sea at a time where additional supply is critical to the UK’s Energy Security Strategy”.
‘Crucial’ supply online
The start-up was welcomed by trade body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), with the group’s market intelligence manager Ross Dornan noting: “This a major investment by Shell and the redevelopment of this field is great news for the energy industry and the economy as a whole, as it means the field can produce gas as well as oil for the UK market.
“This additional supply is crucial to the UK’s energy security and reduces our reliance on imports as we transition to net zero.
“We need to continue to explore our own waters for new reserves of oil and gas at the same time as we expand and develop low-carbon technologies, to ensure we safeguard the country’s energy needs today and in the future.”
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