TotalEnergies’ final sprint toward first gas at North Sea project underway

TotalEnergies EP Danmark, a subsidiary of France’s energy giant TotalEnergies, has tucked another milestone under its belt with the loading of methanol at the Tyra II redevelopment project in the Danish sector of the North Sea, which is said to be Denmark’s largest natural gas field.

TotalEnergies’ latest remit notification, issued on behalf of its partners in the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), confirms the start-up of the methanol loading activities at Tyra, after the verification that all emergency and safety systems are functional and compliant. The Danish Underground Consortium is a partnership between TotalEnergies (operator, 43.2%), BlueNord (36.8%), and Nordsøfonden (20%).

The green light for the loading of methanol was obtained via an offshore verification statement (OVS) from the independent verifier for the methanol system, associated subsystems, and safety systems, confirming that the independent verifier has reviewed the design, fabrication, and testing of these systems, as far as safety is concerned, and list any associated conditions.

According to the company, this OVS declaration forms part of the multi-step approval process towards first gas and further gas export, where additional accredited declarations will support the authority approvals. TotalEnergies explains that methanol, a colorless and flammable liquid, plays “a crucial role in further ensuring the safety and integrity” of its offshore operations.

The Tyra redevelopment is days away from resuming production and delivering the first gas supplies to Denmark with all hands on deck to prepare the facilities for a safe production restart. After production restart, TotalEnergies intends to gradually re-establish the gas flow from Harald, Svend, Roar, and Valdemar, and the wells from the Tyra field, including Southeast, West, and East.

Depending on continued progress, the expected start-up date for Tyra II is in the second half of March, with the arrival of gas from Tyra II to Denmark expected between March 21 – 31, 2024. The previous restart date was March 31, 2024. Tyra has been a center for processing and exporting more than 90% of the natural gas produced in the Danish North Sea before its redevelopment.

However, the redevelopment was needed due to the field’s natural subsidence of the chalk reservoir after many years of production. The revamp entailed three elements covering the decommissioning and recycling of the old Tyra platforms, recycling and extending the current legs on six platforms, which got new topsides, a completely new process module, and a new accommodation platform.

Once back at full capacity, TotalEnergies believes that Tyra II will enable Denmark to become once again self-sufficient and a net exporter of natural gas, as this project is expected to deliver 2.8 billion cubic meters of gas per year, amounting to 80% of the forecasted Danish gas production.

A final investment decision (FID) was recently taken to drill a well in the Harald East area. The gas from the well, if these drilling operations turn out to be successful, will be exported through the Tyra East facilities. The well could deliver production by the end of 2024.