Premier files decommissioning plan for Huntington field FPSO

Oil and gas company Premier Oil has filed its decommissioning program for the float-off of the Huntington field FPSO, located in the UK North Sea, to the UK authorities.

The Premier-operated Huntington field is located in block 22/14b of the Central North Sea, approximately 230km from Aberdeen, 28km from the UK/NOR median line, in a water depth of approximately 89m. Production started in 2013. Produced oil is stored in cargo oil tanks and exported using shuttle tankers. Dehydrated gas is also exported to shore via the Central Area Transmission System.

The Huntington field is currently producing via Teekay’s Voyageur Spirit FPSO, and the operation will be continued until relevant notices are made to cease production.

Premier said it had investigated various alternative production strategies to further extend the life of the Huntington field, but no viable alternative to decommissioning has been identified.

Therefore, Premier field a document, which contains the decommissioning program for the departure of the Voyageur Spirit FPSO and the removal of the associated riser system in the Huntington field.

Removal of the Voyageur Spirit FPSO is part of the overall Huntington field decommissioning project, the scope of which is split up into three phases, proposed to be executed over a seven-year period.

The FPSO will be removed in phase 1. The remaining subsea infrastructure, pipelines, structures and stabilisation features, will be decommissioned during phase 2. The wells plugging and abandoned (including drill template removal), environmental surveys, debris clearance (and verification) will be carried out in phase 3.

The Voyageur Spirit will be utilized for the initial decommissioning activities, namely the flushing/de-oiling of the subsea infrastructure i.e. manifolds, risers, subsea pipelines and umbilical, and to support with the implementation of positive isolations. The FPSO is then not required to perform any further decommissioning and it is proposed that the vessel is removed thereafter from its current location.

Activities associated with subsequent decommissioning stages of the subsea pipelines, umbilical, risers and other subsea infrastructure will require the services provided by other specialist vessels.

The FPSO is on the Huntington field under a lease and operate contract between Premier Oil and Teekay. As Teekay’s business model includes the deployment and re-deployment of floating production facilities, leading up to CoP and/or post Phase 1 decommissioning, Teekay will pursue and/or secure alternative arrangements for redeployment of the floating production facility.