UK oil and gas firm Tailwind Energy intends to install a second pipeline to increase production from the Gannet E field in the UK central North Sea.
Tailwind said output from the field’s three wells was constrained due to the size of the existing flowline, which is tied in to Dana Petroleum’s Triton floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO).
In an update on the Oil and Gas Authority’s project pathfinder page, Tailwind said it would undertake the Gannet E expansion in parallel with its Evelyn phase one project, which was rubber stamped by regulators last month.
Fluids from the new Gannet E pipeline will be blended with hydrocarbons from the Evelyn and Bittern fields at a new manifold.
Tailwind said: “We will execute the combined project utilising project management expertise of existing operating partners in Triton and Gannet E, Petrofac and Dana.
“The subsea scope of Evelyn and Gannet E will be delivered as a combined project by Dana (Triton FPSO Operator) with Technip as the Subsea EPIC contractor.
“The topsides modifications will also be managed by Dana.”
Tailwind acquired its 100% stake in Gannet E in September 2018 through its purchase of Shell and ExxonMobil’s stakes in the Triton cluster.
Shell initially developed the field via three wells connected to the Gannet Alpha platform, about 110 miles east of Aberdeen.
First oil was achieved in 1998, some 16 years after the field’s discovery.
But production was halted in 2011 in the wake of a pipeline leak, which led to 200 tonnes of oil escaping into the sea.
The incident cost Shell about £45 million. Aberdeen Sheriff Court fined the Anglo-Dutch major £22,500 in 2015.
Gannet E came back online in 2018 after a new pipeline was installed connecting the field to the Triton vessel, about 120 miles east of Aberdeen.
Tailwind was founded in 2016 by a management team boasting more than 200 years of experience in investment and exploration and production.
It is backed by private commodities and energy group Mercuria.
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