PHOTO: Maersk’s Culzean wellhead jacket takes its place in North Sea

Maersk Oil has reported that a wellhead jacket for the Culzean field’s wellhead platform is now firmly in place in the UK sector of the North Sea. 

Maersk Oil-operated Culzean field was discovered in 2008, approximately 250 kilometers east of Aberdeen in license block 22/25a, and the field development was approved in August 2015.

The overall Culzean development concept consists of a wellhead platform, a central processing facility platform and a separate utilities and living quarter platform with capacity for over 100 people. The platforms will be linked via two bridges approximately 100 metres in length. First gas is currently expected in 2019.

First steel for the Culzean wellhead platform jacket was cut in January 2015. Both the jacket and the wellhead access deck sailed away from Heerema’s Vlissingen yard and Heerema’s Hartlepool yard, respectively, in April 2016.

Once the jacket arrived to its North Sea location, Heerema Marine Contractors was in charge of the installation.

According to Maersk Oil’s social media post on Wednesday, the Culzean wellhead jacket was fixed to the seabed by 12 skirt piles driven 45m deep, which is a total pile weight of 3,500mT.

The jacket has a height of 114 meters, a footprint of 31 x 31 meters and a top of 22 x 22 meters. The wellhead jacket, the wellhead access deck and the access ways together weigh 7,100 tons.

Maersk Oil has 49.99% interest in the field, and its partners are JX Nippon and Britoil, a subsidiary of BP. Britoil recently doubled its stake in the Culzean field by acquiring 16% interest from JX Nippon thus boosting its interest to a total of 32%.

Offshore Energy Today Staff