A new pipeline to bypass recurring wax blockage issues at a North Sea gas field is due to be operational this week.
Wax restrictions have been a consistent problem for the export line on Chevron’s Erskine field, which is linked to the Lomond field, operated by Chrysaor.
Erskine fluids are transported to the Lomond platform for processing via the 18-mile pipeline operated by Chrysaor, which holds a 32% stake in Erskine.
Plans for a new 16-mile bypass line to solve the issue were announced in April and the firm said it is on track to be operational this week.
Elaine McLean, senior contracts and procurement advisor at Chrysaor gave an update at the Achilles FPAL Oil and Gas Insights event at the Aberdeen Maritime Museum yesterday.
She said: “We had a major blockage on the Lomond pipeline, PL781, so we ended up doing a 26km bypass.
“We couldn’t clear the blockage and we had to spend quite a significant chunk of money to cut the line and reroute the production.
“It should be up and running this week, fingers crossed.”
In January, Serica announced that the pipeline between the Lomond and Everest platforms had become blocked during cleaning operations.
Serica’s income in 2016 was also dented by a prolonged shut-in on Erskine due to a pipeline blockage.
In April, Serica said all parties had decided to put “a permanent solution in place”.
Chief executive Mitch Flegg said: “We have repaired the problem each time the wax problem has occurred.
“However, all of the interested parties have got together and said that if we solve it again, it might reoccur in time so we need to put a permanent solution in place.”
