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OIL AND GAS BASICS (UKOOA)

GEOLOGI CAL SETTI NGS


Origins of Oil and Gas
Oil and gas ar e deri ved al most ent i rel y fr om decayed pl ant s and bact eri a. Energy f r om t he sun, whi ch
fuell ed t he pl ant growt h, has been r ecycl ed i nt o useful energy i n t he form of hydr ocarbon compounds -
hydrogen and carbon at oms l i nked t oget her.
Of al l t he di verse l i fe t hat has ever exi st ed comparat i vel y li t t l e has become, or wi ll become oil and gas.
Pl ant remai ns must fi rst be t rapped and preser ved i n sedi ment s, t hen be buri ed deepl y and sl owl y
cooked t o yi el d oil or gas. Rocks cont ai ni ng suffi ci ent organi c subst ances t o generat e oil and gas i n
t hi s way are known as source rocks.
Dead pl ant s usuall y are di spersed and decay r api dl y, but in areas such as swamps, l akes and poorl y
oxygenat ed ar eas of t he seafl oor, vast amount s of pl ant mat eri al accumul at e. Bact eri a breaki ng down
t hi s mat eri al may use up all availabl e oxygen, pr oduci ng a st agnant envi ronment whi ch i s unfit for
l arger grazi ng and scavengi ng ani mal s. The pl ant and bact eri a remai ns become buri ed and preserved i n
muds. I n swamps t he r emai ns may form coal s on buri al .
Whet her oil or gas i s for med depends part l y on t he st art i ng mat eri al s ( F3) . Al most all oil forms f rom t he
buri ed remai ns of mi nut e aquat i c al gae and bact eri a, but gas f orms i f t hese r emai ns are deepl y buri ed.
The st ems and l eaves of buri ed l and pl ant s are al t ered t o coal s. Gener all y t hese yi el d no oil , but again
produce gas on deep buri al .
Bri t ai ns off shore and gas ori ginat es fr om t wo sour ces. Gas f rom beneat h t he sout hern Nort h Sea and
t he I ri sh Sea f ormed fr om coal s whi ch wer e deri ved fr om t he l ush, t ropi cal rai n forest s t hat gr ew i n t he
Carboni fer ous Peri od, about 300 mi lli on years ago. Oi l and most gas under t he cent ral and nort hern
Nort h Sea and west of t he Shet l and I sl ands f ormed fr om t he remai ns of pl ankt oni c al gae and bact eri a
t hat fl ouri shed i n t ropi cal seas of t he Jurassi c and Cret aceous Peri ods, about 140 t o 130 milli on years
ago ( a si gni fi cant amount of t he Ki mmeri dge Cl ay Format i on i s Cret aceous i n age) . They accumul at ed
i n muds, whi ch are now t he pr ol i fi c Ki mmeri dge Cl ay sour ce r ock.


On buri al t he carbohydrat es and pr ot ei ns of t he pl ant remai ns are soon dest r oyed. The remai ning
organi c compounds for m a mat eri al call ed ker ogen. Aquat i c pl ant s and bact eri a form kerogen of
di fferent composi t i on from woody l and pl ant s.
The processes of oi l and gas format i on resembl e t hose of a ki t chen wher e t he r ocks ar e sl owl y cooked.
Temperat ur es wi t hi n t he Eart hs crust i ncrease wi t h dept h so t hat sedi ment s ( F4) , and kerogen whi ch
t hey cont ai n, warm up as t hey become buri ed under t hi ck pil es of younger sedi ment s.
As a source rock, deposi t ed under t he sea or i n a l ake, becomes hot t er ( t ypi call y > 100oC) , l ong chai ns
of hydr ogen and carbon at oms break fr om t he kerogen, formi ng waxy and vi scous heavy oi l . At hi gher
t emperat ur es, short er hydrocarbon chai ns break away t o gi ve li ght oil and t hen, above about 160oC,
gas. Most Nort h Sea oi l i s t he mor e val uabl e li ght oil . The woody ker ogen of coal s yi el d mai nl y met hane
gas, whose mol ecul es cont ai n onl y one carbon at om. Gas fr om t he sout hern Nort h Sea i s met hane.
Once a sour ce r ock has st art ed t o generat e oil or gas i t i s sai d t o be mat ur e. The most i mport ant
product s generat ed are gas, oi l , oil cont ai ni ng di ssol ved gas, and gas cont ai ni ng di ssol ved oi l whi ch i s
call ed gas condensat e. Condensat e i s t he li ght oil whi ch i s deri ved from gas condensat es whi ch are
found at hi gh underground t emperat ur es and pressur es; i t i s t he most i mport ant product i n some Nort h
Sea fi el ds.

I n t he Nort h Sea, oil for ms at 3- 4. 5km dept h, gas at 5- 6km. At gr eat er dept hs any remai ni ng kerogen
has become carboni sed and no l onger yi el ds hydrocarbons. Buri al t o t hese dept hs occurs i n areas
wher e t he Eart hs crust i s saggi ng. I n t he cent r al and nort hern Nort h Sea t he oi l source r ock i s buri ed in
a deep ri ft vall ey. I n t he sout hern Nort h Sea, coal - beari ng rocks f or med t he fl oor of a basi n, whi ch fill ed
wi t h younger sedi ment s.

Migrat ion
Much oil and gas moves away or mi grat es fr om t he sour ce rock. Mi grat i on
i s t ri ggered bot h by nat ural compact i on of t he source r ock and by t he
processes of oil and gas format i on. Most sedi ment s accumul at e as a
mi xt ure of mi neral part i cl es and wat er. As t hey become buri ed, some
wat er i s squeezed out and once oi l and gas are formed, t hese are also
expell ed. I f t he wat er cannot escape fast enough, as i s oft en t he case
from muddy source rocks, pr essure buil ds up. Al so, as t he oi l and gas
separat e f r om t he ker ogen duri ng generat i on, t hey t ake up mor e space
and cr eat e hi gher pr essure i n t he source rock. The oi l and gas move
t hrough minut e pores and cracks whi ch may have formed i n t he source
rock t owards mor e per meabl e rocks above or bel ow i n whi ch t he pressure
i s l ower ( F8) .
Oil , gas and wat er mi grat e t hrough permeabl e rocks i n whi ch t he cracks
and por e spaces bet ween t he r ock part i cl es are i nt erconnect ed and are
l arge enough t o permi t fl ui d movement ( F5) . Fl uids cannot fl ow t hrough
rocks where t hese spaces ar e very smal l or ar e bl ocked by mi neral
growt h; such r ocks are i mpermeabl e ( F6) . Oil and gas al so mi grat e al ong
some l arge f ract ur es and fault s whi ch may ext end for gr eat di st ances i f,
or when as a resul t of movement ,
t hese ar e permeabl e.
Oil and gas ar e l ess dense t han t he
wat er whi ch fill s t he pore spaces in
rocks so t hey t end t o mi grat e
upwards once out of t he sour ce
rock. Under t he hi gh pressur es at
dept h gas may be di ssol ved i n oil
and vi ce versa so t hey may mi grat e
as si ngl e fl ui ds. These fl ui ds may
become di sper sed as i sol at ed bl obs
t hrough l arge vol umes of r ock, but l arger amount s can become
t rapped i n porous r ocks. Havi ng mi grat ed t o shall ower dept hs
t han t he source r ocks and so t o l esser pr essur es t he si ngl e flui ds
may separat e i nt o oil and gas wi t h t he l ess dense gas ri si ng
above t he oi l . I f t hi s separat i on does not occur bel ow t he sur face
i t t akes pl ace when t he fl ui d i s brought t o t he surface ( F7) .
Wat er i s al ways present bel ow and wi t hi n t he oil and gas l ayers,
but has been omi t t ed fr om most of t he di agrams f or cl ari t y.
Mi grat i on i s a sl ow process, wi t h oil and gas t ravel ling bet ween a few kil omet res and t ens of kilomet res
over mi lli ons of years. But i n t he course of many milli ons of years huge amount s have ri sen nat urall y t o
sea fl oors and l and surfaces ar ound t he worl d ( F8) . Vi si bl e li quid oil seepages are comparat i vel y rare,
most oi l becomes vi scous and t ar ry near t he surface as a r esul t of oxi dat i on and bact eri al act i on, but
t races of nat ural oi l seepage can oft en be det ect ed i f sought .

Trapping Oil and Gas
Oil fi el ds and gasfi el ds are ar eas where hydr ocarbons have become
t rapped i n permeabl e reservoi r rocks, such as por ous sandst one or
fract ur ed l i mest one. Mi grat i on t owards t he surface i s st opped or
sl owed down by i mpermeabl e r ocks such as cl ays, cement ed
sandst ones or sal t whi ch act as seal s. Oi l and gas accumul at e onl y
wher e seal s occur above and around r eser voi r rocks so as t o st op
t he upward mi grat i on of oil and gas and form t raps ( F10) , i n whi ch
t he seal i s known as t he cap r ock. The mi grat ing hydrocarbons fi ll
t he hi ghest part of t he reservoi r, any excess oi l and gas escapi ng
at t he spill poi nt ( F9) wher e t he seal does not st op upwar d
mi grat i on. Gas may bubbl e out of t he oi l and form a gas cap
above i t ; at great er dept hs and pressur es gas r emai ns di ssol ved in
t he oi l ( F9) . Since few seal s are perf ect , oi l and gas escape sl owl y
from most t raps. I n many fi el ds i ncomi ng oil and gas bal ance t hi s
l oss, as i n t he Brent and Ekofi sk fi el ds i n t he Nort h Sea. Gas
mi grat es and escapes f rom t raps more readi l y t han oil , but t he
sal t l ayers beneat h t he sout hern Nort h Sea wher e much gas i s
t rapped have proved a very effi ci ent seal because sal t cont ai ns no
por e spaces, and fract ur es r eseal t hemsel ves.
Fi gure 10 shows t he mai n t ypes of t raps. St ruct ural t raps ar e
for med where rocks ar e fol ded i nt o suit abl e shapes ( A) or reservoi r and seali ng rocks are j uxt aposed
acr oss faul t s ( B) . Traps may al so f orm when r ocks are domed over ri sing sal t masses ( C) . St rat i graphi c
t raps ori gi nat e where a sui t abl e combinat i on of rock t ypes i s deposi t ed i n a part i cul ar envi ronment ( D) ,
for exampl e, wher e a r eser voi r r ock of permeabl e ri ver sand i s seal ed by cl ays accumul at ed i n t he
swamps whi ch formed t o cover t he ri ver channel . I n real i t y most t raps are f ormed by mor e compl ex
sequence of event s and cannot be cl assi fi ed so ri gi dl y. For exampl e ( E) , t he r eser voi r r ock was fi rst
fol ded and eroded, t hen seal ed by an i mpermeabl e rock whi ch was deposi t ed l at er over t he eroded
st ruct ur e. Where a part i cul ar set of ci rcumst ances has combi ned t o pr oduce a gr oup of oi l or gasfi el ds
wi t h si mil ar t rap st ruct ures or reservoi r r ock, t hi s i s t ermed a pl ay. There ar e several i mport ant pl ays i n
t he Nort h Sea, whi ch ar e descri bed on pages 18 t o 23.

I n order t o t rap mi grat ing oil and gas, st ruct ur es must exi st bef or e hydrocarbon generat i on occur s. I n
some part s of t he Nort h Sea t rap st ruct ur es exi st ed 125 milli on years ago, but wer e not fi ll ed wi t h oil
unt il 100 milli on years l at er. The r ocks beneat h t he Nort h Sea ar e si nking onl y a few millimet res i n t en
years, so generat i on onl y occur r ed aft er very l ong peri ods of buri al and cooki ng.
All oil and gas fi el ds for m by a chance combi nat i on of event s t hat pr oduces t he ri ght sort s of r ocks and
st ruct ur es, t oget her wi t h t he ri ght t i mi ng. The for ces t hat shaped Bri t ai ns offshore oi l and gas fi el ds
al so creat ed oceans and t ransport ed Bri t ai n from sout h of t he equat or t o i t s present l at i t ude. The ori gin
of t hese f orces and t hei r eff ect on t he crust , bot h gl oball y and around Bri t ai n, are descri bed i n t he next
sect i on.

Forces That Shape t he Eart hs Crust
The whi t e- hot , part i all y mol t en int eri or of t he Eart h i s i n const ant mot ion.
Thi s t ransmi t s i t sel f t o t he more ri gi d out er l ayer , t he l i t hosphere, whi ch
i s al so const ant l y on t he move ( F12) . New li t hospher e i s creat ed al ong
mi d- ocean ri dges wher e mol t en r ock i s i nj ect ed, cooli ng t o form new
ocean crust , t he t op l ayer of t hi s young li t hosphere ( F13) . The
li t hospher e moves away f rom t he ri dges i n t he pr ocess of sea- floor
spr eadi ng, and i s dest r oyed wher ever i t sl i des back i nt o t he Eart h, al ong
subduct i on zones. Si nce i t i s t hi cker and li ght er t han t he oceani c crust ,
cont i nent al crust i s not subduct ed and so i s most l y much ol der t han
oceani c crust . The gr eat sl abs of li t hospher e bet ween mi d- ocean ri dges
and subduct i on zones ar e
call ed pl at es.
The compl ex i nt eract i ons of
oceani c and cont inent al
li t hospher e, powered by pl at e
movement s are cal l ed pl at e t ect oni cs. I n addi t i on t o t he
openi ng out of ocean basi ns, t he mai n effect s of pl at e
t ect oni cs ar e t he gr owt h and
break- up of cont i nent s.
Cont i nent s grow by format i on
of new cont i nent al crust al ong
vol cani c bel t s and by t he
addi t i on of t err anes, whi ch are
pi eces of cont i nent al mat eri al
and ocean i sl and arcs formed
el sewhere and raft ed i nt o ol der
cont i nent s by sea- fl oor
spr eadi ng. These colli si ons
t el escope t he cont i nent al crust
and produce mount ai n ranges.
Conversel y, wher e t he
spr eadi ng process l ocat es i t sel f under a cont i nent , t he
cont i nent may event uall y spli t apart . A new ocean will form
bet ween t he ri ft ed part s whi ch may t hen t ravel l ong
di st ances as part s of t he movi ng pl at es. The rat e of growt h
and hori zont al movement of pl at es i s anyt hi ng from about
2cm t o 10cm per year, about t he same as ones fi ngernail s.
The dri ft i ng of ri ft ed cont i nent s may car ry t hem t hrough
several cli mat i c zones, for exampl e, fr om equat ori al humi d
t hrough t ropi cal ari d t o t emperat e and arct i c, over t ens or
hundreds of mi lli on years ( F14) . Thi s i s of gr eat i mport ance t o t he generat i on and t rappi ng of oi l and
gas, as ar e t he st ruct ur al di srupt i ons brought about by pl at e t ect oni cs.
Large areas of t he cont inent al crust are cover ed by
l ayers of sedi ment ary rock whi ch are t hi ckest i n
t he mi ddl e of basi ns. Nearl y all oil and gas i s found
i n such basi ns, whi ch ar e f ormed over many
milli ons of years by st r et chi ng of t he crust
combi ned wi t h saggi ng. The Nort h Sea i s a cl assi c
exampl e. Most basi ns have a t wo- t i er st ruct ure;
t he l ower t i er i s faul t ed i nt o bl ocks whil e t he
upper- t i er i s a si mple sag ( F16b) . Ther e ar e
di fferent t heori es t o expl ain basi n format i on. The
li t hospher e may st ret ch uni forml y li ke t of fee,
fract uri ng t he upper bri t t l e l ayers i nt o t il t ed bl ocks,
t hen sag as t he underl ying, part l y- mol t en layer
( ast henospher e) cool s down. Al t ernat i vel y t he ent i re l i t hospher e may be det ached al ong a huge l ow-
angl e faul t ( F16a) t o whi ch curved li st ri c bl ock- faul t s are li nked. The real i t y may be a combi nat i on or
st ret chi ng at dept h wit h det achment hi gh up in
t he li t hosphere.
Compr ession of t he upper cont inent al cr ust
by plat e t ect onic mechanisms result s in
buckling and t elescoping of rock layers t o
form fold and t hr ust belt s ( F15) . The
t elescoping is oft en relat ed t o a deep
det achment , above which a st ack of t hr ust
sheet s pile up. Large masses of light weight
granit e give buoyancy t o t he crust . The highs
t hat result may be marked by reduced
deposit ion of sediment s or act ual emergence
and erosion. Beyond t he t hrust belt , r ock
st r at a may undergo compression. This t ends
t o expel t he cont ent s of basins upwards and
out war ds in a process t ermed inver sion. The
expulsion oft en t akes place along t he same list ric fault s t hat guided t he basins
development . Basin inver sion is a ver y import ant mechanism in gas and oil f ield format ion.
I t may cr eat e good st ruct ural t raps for oil and gas, and may prevent "over- cooking" of t he
source rock. However, it may also per mit t he escape of hydrocarbons or cause erosion of
source rocks or r eser voir rocks.

The Crust Around Brit ain



Al t hough t he pl at es of t he Eart hs crust
are i n const ant mot i on, t he st r ongest
eff ect s of pl at e t ect oni cs i n any one
area occur at peak t i mes wi t h l ongi sh
peri ods of r el at i ve t ranquillit y i n
bet ween. Rock st rat a accumul at e i n
t hese t ranquil peri ods and ar e
di srupt ed and deformed by l at er pl at e
col li si ons. Thi s may cause t hi ckeni ng of
t he cont i nent al crust and i t s el evat i on
as mount ai n ranges. The mount ai ns
are er oded down and deposi t i on of
sedi ment ary st rat a r esumes. The crust
i s t hus built up of unit s, some hi ghl y
deformed, ot hers hardl y di st urbed.
These uni t s are st acked above or
agai nst each ot her. The j unct i ons of
t he uni t s are ei t her ol d er osi on surfaces
or l arge di sl ocat i ons.





Ther e are fi ve maj or unit s buil di ng t he crust s under Bri t i sh seas ( F17) .
At t he t op i s t he Younger Cover, rangi ng i n t he age fr om Permi an t o Recent ( F18) . I t fill s t he basi ns
cont ai ni ng most of our oil and gas.
Bel ow i s t he Ol der Cover compri si ng Devoni an and/ or Carboni fer ous st rat a bet ween 400 and 300
milli on years ol d. I n sout hern Bri t ai n, rocks of t hi s age are st r ongl y defor med and cut i nt o sli ces whi ch
have been st acked above each ot her t o f orm t he Vari scan fol d- bel t or Vari sci des. Under much of t he
Nort h Sea, t he Ol der Cover forms an underl ay r est i ng on earl y Pal aeozoi c st rat a f ol ded 410 milli on
years ago ( t he l at e Cal edoni des) and mai nl y lat e Pr ecambri an st rat a fol ded and met amorphosed 510
milli on years ago and earli er ( t he earl y Cal edoni des) .

Precambri an rocks ol der t han 600 milli on years for m
t he foundat i ons of t he whol e st ruct ur e. I n t he nort h
are anci ent cryst alli ne rocks wi t h a fl at cover of l ess
anci ent Precambri an st rat a i nvol ved i n adj acent
earl y Cal edoni an fol di ng. I n t he sout h, t he
Precambri an basement was not f ormed unt il t he
very end of t he Pr ecambri an Era.
The map ( F19) shows t he out crops of t he mai n uni t s
of t he cont i nent al crust i n Nort h- West Europe. I t i s
i mmedi at el y obvi ous t hat t he Bri t i sh I sl es are
surr ounded by seas mai nl y underl ai n by t he
Younger Cover f ormat i ons. The map shows t he
l ocat i on of t he mai n depr essi ons i n whi ch t he
Younger Cover was deposi t ed. Some of t hese
exceed 10km i n dept h. Over hi ghs such as t he Mi d-
Nort h Sea Hi gh and t he London- Brabant Pl at form,
t he t hi ckness di mi ni shes t o 2 km or l ess.
The Ol der Cover i s ext ensi vel y exposed on t he sea
fl oor onl y i n t he west ern I ri sh Sea and i n t he
Orkney- Shet l and regi on. Subsea out crops of t he
Vari sci des border t he West ern Appr oaches and
Cel t i c Sea basi ns. The Cal edoni des have a very
rest ri ct ed subsea out cr op consi st ent wi t h t hei r
t endency t o f or m upland areas of Bri t ain and
I rel and. The anci ent Pr ecambri an basement of Nort h
Bri t ai n - t he Lewi si an Gnei ss - i s wi del y exposed
wher eas t he young Precambri an of sout h Bri t ain has al most as f ew subsea exposur es as on l and.
Foundat ions

The Pr ecambri an basement forms t wo- t hi rds of t he Bri t i sh crust . The
nort hern hal f ( F21) was part of t he supercont inent of Laurasi a ( Canada,
Gr eenl and and Scandi navi a) and has had a l ong, event ful hi st ory dat i ng
back nearl y 3000 milli on year s. Most of i t has been r epeat edl y reformed
at hi gh t emperat ur es and pressures. The sout hern hal f, composed of l ess
al t ered rocks, was a nort hern out post of t he supercont i nent of
Gondwana ( Afri ca, Sout h Ameri ca, I ndi a and Ant arct i ca) . The t wo hal ves
wer e brought t oget her when t he I apet us Ocean cl osed, cr eat i ng t he next
t i er, t he Cal edoni des. The earl y Cal edoni des formed bef or e I apet us
cl osed. They ar e met amorphi c rocks wi t h an i ncredi bl y compli cat ed
st ruct ur e caused by r epeat ed compressi on. The l at e Cal edoni des are
sedi ment ary and vol cani c rocks f ol ded aft er I apet us cl osed. The
Nor wegi an Cal edoni des are i nt ermedi at e i n age and have a t hrust - sheet
st ruct ur e unli ke t he Bri t i sh Cal edoni des. The Nort h Sea i s underl ai n at
dept h by al l t hree t ypes of Cal edoni des.
The Cal edoni an pl at e colli si ons in t he Devoni an Peri od produced a l and of l akes and wi de ri ver pl ains in
whi ch t he Ol d Red Sandst one was deposi t ed. A seaway ext ended acr oss sout hern Bri t ai n and i nt o
cent ral Eur ope at t hi s t i me. I n t he Carboni fer ous Peri od a warm coral sea fl ooded t he Ol d Red
Cont i nent , but as t he cont i nent dri ft ed nort hwards t owards t he equat or, t he sea r et r eat ed and humi d
swampl ands devel oped, cl ot hed i n luxuri ant veget at i on. These, t he coal forest s, wer e peri odi call y
fl ooded when t he pol ar i ce- caps mel t ed. Lat e i n t he Carboni fer ous Peri od, t he sout hern seaway cl osed
and Laurasi a became fused t o t he mai n mass of Gondwana, wi t h t he format i on of t he Vari scan
mount ai n ranges - t he Vari sci des - al ong t he colli si on zone ( F23) . By t he Permi an Peri od al l cont i nent al
masses had come t oget her t o form t he vast supercont i nent of Pangaea whi ch cont i nued t o dri ft
nort hwards.



Forces
The forces t hat creat ed Bri t ai ns offshor e oi l and gas basi ns and t hei r st ruct ur es wer e rel at ed t o gl obal
pl at e t ect oni cs. Wi despread basi n format i on occurr ed i n t he Per mi an peri od duri ng t he crust al
subsi dence t hat foll owed t he Vari scan fol di ng. Oft en i t si mpl y added t o pre- exi st i ng Devoni an and
Carboni fer ous basi ns of t he Ol der Cover, and carri ed on i nt o t he Mesozoi c and Tert i ary Eras. Many of
t hese superi mposed basi ns seemed t o be ali gned al ong t he dominant st ruct ural grai n in t hei r
basement s ( F20) .
I n t he Nort h Sea, t he t wo mai n Per mi an basi ns runni ng east - west are most l i kel y rel at ed t o t he
adj acent Vari scan f ol d- bel t ( F24) . Whet her or not t he Permi an basi n subsi dence r epr esent s t he earl i est
si gn of t he openi ng of t he At l ant i c Ocean i s hi ghl y cont roversi al , but by t he mi ddl e of t he Jurassi c
Peri od t he openi ng was wel l under way. I t advanced nort hwards i n t he Cr et aceous Peri od and in t he
earl y Tert i ary Peri od t he Nort h At l ant i c rapi dl y opened out . Duri ng a cruci al Jurassi c and Cr et aceous
phase of wi despr ead cr ust al t ensi on, t he crust around Bri t ai n ri ft ed. Locat ed over ri si ng col umns of hot
mant l e, t hese ri ft s ( fai l ed arms) never became oceans but wer e t he i ni t i al phase i n t he t wo- st age
mechani sm of basi n format i on. Teari ng movement s al so produced l ocal pull - apart basi ns.
Compr essi ons ori gi nat ing i n t he pl at e colli sions t hat produced t he Al ps caused upli ft and er osi on
( inversi on) of basi n cont ent s.



West ern Basins

A number of deep basi ns
are l ocat ed of f west ern
Bri t ai n from t he Shet l ands
t o t he West ern Approaches.
Most began l i fe i n t he
Per mi an Peri od.
Hal f- grabens
( F26) formed by t he t rap-
door mechani sm are
common; l arge basi ns li ke
t he East I ri sh Sea Basi n and
t he Faeroe- Shet l and Basi n
( F25) are compri sed of
several such hal f- grabens.
I n t hese basi ns di scoveri es
have been sl ow i n comi ng.
A gap of 16 year s occurr ed
bet ween t he di scover y of
t he gi ant Morecambe f i el d,
and t he oil and gas
di scoveri es of t he Li verpool Bay compl ex. The I r i sh Sea gas and oil come fr om underl yi ng Carboni ferous
coal s and shal es. They have been t rapped i n Tri assic
sandst ones beneat h i mpermeabl e mudst one.
I n t he Faeroe- Shet l and Basi n ( F49) , t he gi ant Cl ai r fi el d was
di scovered i n 1977. The compl ex fract ur ed r eser voi r pr event ed
earl y devel opment , and i t i s onl y now, wi t h t he appl i cat i on of
t echnol ogi cal advances, t hat t hi s fi el d i s being brought i nt o
product i on. Around 15 year s aft er t he di scovery of Cl ai r, BP
found t he Foi naven and Schi ehalli on fi el ds, al so i n t he Faer oe-
Shet l and Basi n. These t wo fi el ds are now i n product i on, usi ng
Fl oat i ng, Product i on, St orage and Offl oadi ng ( FPSO) vessel s,
wi t h t he oil t ransport ed by shut t l e t anker.
Nort h Sea Basins




Conceal ed beneat h t he bl anket - li ke sag of t he Nort h Sea basi n i s a
compl ex of ol der basi ns and ri ft vall eys ( grabens) bet ween el evat ed
hi ghs and pl at forms. I n t he sout hern and cent ral Nort h Sea, t he
t hi ckest sedi ment s ar e i n t he Permi an basi ns and i n t he deep
Cent ral Graben. The nort hern Nort h Sea i s domi nat ed by t he
sedi ment - fill ed Vi ki ng Graben. Wer e t he graben empt y, Mount
Ever est woul d j ust about fi t int o i t - upsi de- down. F27 shows t he
Per mi an basins and buri ed grabens as t hey woul d appear i f all
rocks younger t han 285 milli on years wer e st ri pped away. The
earl y ri ft ing st age of basi n format i on l ast ed unt il about 125 milli on
years ago, and was f oll owed by t he mai n saggi ng st age. The
Eart hs crust i s t hi nned symmet ri call y across t he ent i re wi dt h of t he
nort hern Nort h Sea. Two furt her i mport ant infl uences on t he st ruct ure i n t he cent ral and sout hern
Nort h Sea ar e deformat ion produced by mobil e sal t masses ( F28) and inver si on of basi ns accompani ed
by erosi on ( see F15) .


The Nort h Sea - t he Sout hern Gasfields

Al most all of t he hydr ocarbon fi el ds in t he sout hern
part of t he Nort h Sea are gasfi el ds. From 285
milli on years ago, t hi s basi n area was set ami d t he
vast Pangaea cont i nent . Duri ng i t s sl ow dri ft
nort hwards across t he equat or ( see F14) , t he
envi ronment i n t he basin graduall y changed as t he
cli mat e al t ered. Seas and l akes came and went ,
surr oundi ng hill s were worn down and t he basi n
cont i nued t o deepen. Duri ng t hi s cont i nual change,
a seri es of rock l ayer s and st ruct ures have f ol l owed
each ot her i n a way whi ch, by chance, all owed t he
cr eat i on and st orage of nat ural gas beneat h t he
area present l y occupi ed by t he sout hern Nort h Sea
( F31) .
F30a shows t he envi ronment 300 milli on year s ago
when t he area l ay over t he equat or. Lush, swampy
rai n forest covered t he f l at lands across t he ar ea of
Bri t ai n and t he Nort h Sea. These wer e t he
Carboni fer ous coal forest s, t he remai ns of whi ch
now provi de Bri t ai ns coal and nat ural gas
resources. Layer s of veget at i on wer e peri odicall y
submerged as t he land sank and sea level
fl uct uat ed. As t hey became more deepl y buri ed t he
pl ant l ayers wer e convert ed t o coal seams i n beds
of shal e and sandst one; t hese r ocks ar e t he Coal
Measures, whi ch underl i e t he area shown i n F29a. Cont i nued si nki ng, part i cul arl y i n t he area of t he
Nort h Sea, has caused t he generat i on of l arge quant i t i es of gas; part s of t he Coal Measur es wer e at t he
ri ght dept h for gas generat i on t o t ake pl ace over 140 mi lli on years ago. The process i s cont i nuing st ill in
some pl aces. Because gas permeat es upwards, i t woul d all be l ost at t he l and surface or sea- bed but
for t he exi st ence, i n cer t ai n areas, of overl yi ng rocks whi ch cont ai n and seal i n gas, effi ci ent l y t rappi ng
i t . These r ocks ar e t he product s of varyi ng desert envi ronment s whi ch affect ed t he mi d- cont i nent al
regi ons of Pangaea dur i ng t he Permi an and Tr i assi c Peri ods. The t rap st ruct ur es f ormed l at er, many
around 70 mi lli on years ago.












By 270 milli on years ago, a desert l ake in t he sout h was border ed by massi ve sand dunes cut by
wadi es ( F30b) . These sands buil t up t o a 300 met r e- t hi ck sandst one f ormat i on whil e t he area subsi ded.
Some of t he dune sands form t he most permeabl e part s of t he Rot li egend Sandst one Group ( F29b) and
hol d much of our nat ural gas. 250 milli on year s ago, sal t l ayers wer e deposi t ed i n t he i nl and Zechst ei n
Sea over t he dune sands ( F29c and 30c) . These l ayer s are now t hi ck beds of sal t whi ch, i n places, act
as a gas seal .
F29 shows how part of t he sout hern ar ea cont ains Permi an Zechst ei n sal t above Rot li egend Sandst ones
whi ch, in t urn, li es over Coal Measur es. Wher ever t hese t hr ee l ayers l ie one above t he ot her t her e i s a
chance t hat gas may be hel d, so l ong as t he rocks are i n t he for m of a t rap.


Oil and Gas from t he Buried Rift Valley

The Bri t ai ns Offshor e Oil and Gas i n t he nort hern
and cent ral areas of t he Nort h Sea i s domi nat ed by
t he geographi cal hi st ory of t he buri ed ri ft vall ey, or
graben. The ri ft i s seen in t he map on t he r i ght
( F32) , whi ch shows t he pr esent - day shape of t he
surface of all rock t hat i s mor e t han 285 milli on
years ol d. Duri ng t hi s last 285 milli on year s, si nce
t he st art of Permi an t imes, subsi dence al ong t he
line of t he ri ft vall ey cr eat ed a changi ng pat t er n of
l and, lake and sea envi ronment s, and i nfl uenced
t he t hi ckness and t ype of sedi ment s t hat
accumul at ed, t he dept h t o whi ch t hey are now
buri ed, and t he t rap st ruct ur es t hat for med.
Consequent l y, hydr ocarbon deposi t s have been
t rapped i n a much great er vari et y of r ocks and
st ruct ur es t han i n t he sout hern Nort h Sea. Much of
t he oi l and gas i s found i n sandst ones t hat are l ess
t han 200 milli on years ol d. The mai n sandst one
and li mest one reservoi r rocks ar e shown, i n green
ornament i n t he col umn on t he ri ght in F32.
Ri ft i ng movement s aff ect ed t hi s area f or mor e t han
a hundred year s. They wer e most i nt ense duri ng
t he Jurassi c Peri od, and Jurassi c rocks pr ovi de t he
most i mport ant oil source and reser voi rs beneat h
t he Nort h Sea. The mai n source of oil and gas i n
t he ar ea i s t he 140 milli on year- ol d Ki mmeridge
Cl ay. The most prol i fi c oil - beari ng reservoi rs
beneat h t he nort hern Nort h Sea ar e t he Jur assi c
Br ent Del t a sands. Br ent Del t a sedi ment s al so cont ai n coal seams deri ved f rom veget at i on on t he
swamps.

These are t he sour ces of some of t he gas now t rapped i n t he area. The sedi ment s t hat buil t up t he
del t a wer e t ransport ed nort hwards by ri ver s drai ni ng vol cani c upl ands whi ch had ri sen up at t he
j unct i on of t hree ar ms of t he ri ft vall ey ( F36) . As l arge as t he Ni l e Del t a, t he Br ent Del t a i s now buri ed
and broken i nt o a seri es of t il t ed bl ocks ( F33) whi ch act as t raps where overl yi ng rocks seal down oil
and gas.


The Ki mmeri dge Cl ay i s part i cul arl y ri ch i n hydrocarbons al ong t he li ne of t he ri ft vall ey. Thi s i s because
t he sl ow subsi dence of t he ri ft hel ped t o set up t he ri ght envi ronment for a rapi d buil d- up of t hi ck mud
l ayers, ri ch i n pl ankt oni c al gal remai ns, on t he deepest part s of t he seabed ( F34) . Cl i mat e and sea
condi t i ons wer e i deal for t he massi ve growt h of bl ooms of pl ankt on. Dead pl ankt on sank i n vast
numbers, and t he seabed bact eri a feedi ng on t hei r remai ns made t he mud st agnant , so t hat part i cl es
from t he pl ankt on cell s wer e preserved i n i t and sl owl y buri ed. The buri ed mud became compressed t o
for m t he Ki mmeri dge Cl ay. The t hi ckest mud l ayers were deposi t ed over t he ri ft and have si nce
subsi ded deep wi t hin t he ri ft heat i ng up sl owly as t hey became mor e deepl y buri ed. The Kimmeri dge
Cl ay has been mat ure for mi lli ons of year s, generat i ng fi rst oil and t hen gas ( see F4, page 6) . F35
shows t he areas wher e i t i s mat ure and gener at ing oil and gas ri ght now.

Most of t he sandst one reservoi rs i n t he nort hern Nort h Sea wer e ori gi nall y part s of ri ver del t as and
submari ne fans - l obes and sheet s of sedi ment whi ch were r e- deposi t ed from sl umping and fl owi ng
masses of unst abl e sea- bed ( F38) . Many i mpor t ant oil and gas occur r ences ar e i n Jurassi c rocks of t hi s
t ype but some of t he l argest ar e i n submarine fan sandst ones whi ch wer e deposi t ed more recent l y, 50
milli on years ago or so ( F37) .
Around 150 mi lli on years ago, i n Jurassi c and on i nt o earl y Cr et aceous t i mes, part s of t he sea fl oor
repeat edl y sank. The great ri ft vall ey syst em, or graben, was rapi dl y subsi di ng. Beneat h t he sea, t he
Eart hs crust cont i nued t o fract ure al ong huge faul t s, and l arge bl ocks dropped down and t il t ed t o form
l ong ri dges al ong t he sea fl oor .
These movement s cont inuall y t ri ggered t he sl umpi ng of
soft sedi ment s i nt o t he deeper t roughs. Unst abl e ar eas
of seabed woul d st art t o shi ft unt il rock f ragment s and
part i cl es were carri ed away acr oss t he sea fl oor as fast -
fl owi ng current s of wat er y sedi ment . These set t l ed out
as fans or mor e widespr ead sheet - l i ke deposi t s.
Coar se, sandy rubbl e was dropped near st eepl y sl opi ng
sea fl oors. Channel s and fans of sand and silt spread
our furt her acr oss t he sea fl oor, bui ldi ng t hi ck l ayers
out from t he submari ne ri dges. Some of t he sandy
rocks whi ch wer e l ai d down i n t hi s way are permeabl e
enough for oil and gas t o fl ow t hrough t hem wi t h ease.
These rocks now hold oil and gas pool s i n t rap
st ruct ur es, such as t hose of t he Brae, Gal l ey, Cl aymore and Magnus fi elds. The t raps formed well
befor e t he oi l and gas mi grat ed i n from t he Ki mmeri dge Cl ay above or ar ound t hem.
The Nort h At l ant i c Ocean was openi ng rapi dl y ar ound 50 mi lli on years ago and t hrough t hi s t i me of
great crust al act i vi t y t he ar ea f rom t he Scot t i sh Hi ghl ands t o t he Shet l and I sl ands was upli ft ed ( F37)
causi ng ri vers t o erode and move huge amount s of sedi ment . Unst abl e masses of sand and sil t built out
acr oss t he surr oundi ng shel ves, whil e react i vat i on of ol der faul t s cont inuall y t ri ggered gr eat fl ows of
sedi ment fr om t he edges of t he submari ne shelves, out acr oss t he deeper sea fl oor underl ai n by t he ri ft
vall ey ( F37) . Submari ne channel deposi t s and fans, buil t up int o wi despr ead l ayers of sandy sedi ment .
These have hardened t o form beds of sil t and sandst one wi t h shal e layers. Wher e t hey have become
part s of sui t abl e t rap st ruct ur es, as i n t he Fort i es, Mont r ose, Fri gg and Cod fi el ds, t hey may hol d
consi derabl e quant i t i es of oi l and gas whi ch have mi grat ed upwards fr om t he deepl y- buried source
rock. Under some part s of t he Nort h Sea area, t he oi l and gas have t hen mi grat ed al most hori zont all y
some t ens of ki l omet r es al ong sandy l ayers unt il t hey have ei t her escaped or become t rapped.
Nat ural st orage of oi l and gas beneat h some par t s of t he Nort h Sea depends upon t he presence of t hi ck
l ayers of sal t , especi ally t hose l ai d down i n t he t r opi cal sea duri ng t he Permi an Peri od, ar ound 250
milli on years ago. I n t he ari d cli mat e, rapi d evaporat i on of t he cont i nuall y i nfl owing seawat er r esul t ed
i n t he buil d- up of mor e t han 2000 met r es of sal t .
I n t he cent ral Nort h Sea ar ea, t rap st ruct ures have been
cr eat ed where l ow- densi t y sal t l ayers have ri sen t hr ough
overl yi ng rock ( F39) . Some of t hese st ruct ures have t rapped
oil and gas, part i cul arl y wi t hin t he Cent ral Graben, where t he
chal k i n t he Norwegi an and Dani sh sect or s has been fract ur ed
and domed by ri sing salt .
I n sout hern ar eas of t he Nort h Sea, however , sal t l ayers of t he
same age act as hydrocarbon seal s. Here, t he source rock and
t he mai n reservoi r r ock l i e beneat h t he sal t and are not
affect ed by i t s movement . Fract ur es i n t he sal t heal by sal t -
fl ow, so t he r ock makes an excel l ent seal .
Chal k act s as an oi l seal i n some ar eas and as a r eser voi r rock i n ot hers. Normal l y, i t s permeabili t y i s
l ow - oil will not fl ow t hrough i t . Chal k mai nly consi st s of t i ny mi neral cryst al s for med by al gae,
whi ch dri ft ed as pl ankt on i n t he seas about 100 t o 65 mi lli on years ago. The cr yst al s, made of
cal cit e, coll ect ed on t he seabed as whi t e, li my mud whi ch hardened t o f orm chal k r ock. Wher e
deepl y buri ed, i t s mi nut e pore spaces become nat urall y cement ed and t he r ock hardens. Deep wi t hin
t he Cent ral Graben, however , some chal k i s much mor e permeabl e t han normal and cont ai ns oi l and
gas. Besi des fract uri ng, a cruci al fact or was t hat of sedi ment - sl umpi ng on t he seabed. Movement s
acr oss t he Cent ral Graben ri ft - edge caused t he sedi ment t o fl ow and re- deposi t as a very por ous,
wat er y sl urry. I n pl aces, t he por es wer e fi ll ed wi t h oil at hi gh pressure bef ore t he cryst al s coul d
become cement ed i nt o a t i ght mass.
A Closer Look at Some Nort h Sea Fields

Brent Field, di scover ed i n t he far nort h of t he ar ea i n 1971,
cont ai ns oil and gas wi t hin t il t ed l ayers of sandy rock. 170 milli on
years ago, t hese l ayers wer e part of a ri ver del t a. Si nce t hen, t he
t ilt i ng movement s, associ at ed wi t h t he ri ft i ng Vi ki ng Graben have
been fol l owed by a l ong peri od of saggi ng. Muddy sedi ment s -
i ncl uding Ki mmeri dge Cl ay, t he sour ce of t he oil - have draped
acr oss t he t i t l ed bl ocks ( F33) , filli ng t he subsi di ng t roughs
bet ween t hem, and seali ng t he er oded upper edges of t he
sandst one l ayer s ( F41) t o f orm t raps. Much l at er , oil was expel l ed
downwards i nt o t he sandst ones fr om t he t hi ck mudrock, now
deepl y buri ed wi t hi n t he t roughs. The oi l mi grat ed up t he t il t ed
sandst one l ayers t o col lect i n t he crest s. Some of t he gas came fr om coal wi t hi n t he del t a sedi ment s.
Oil i s st ill mi grat i ng t hrough t he ar ea. The sandst one l ayers, each more t han 200 met r es t hick, have
hel d over 500 bi lli on li t res of oil , for milli ons of year s, wi t hin an
area of 17 by 5 km.
Piper Field, di scovered i n 1973, li es at t he edge of an arm of t he
buri ed ri ft vall ey. Oil in t hi s fi el d i s t rapped wi t hi n a t il t ed
sandst one l ayer cut by faul t s. The sandst one was deposi t ed 145
milli on years ago, duri ng l at e Jurassi c t i mes, as sand bars around
a seri es of ri ver del t as. Ki mmeri dge Cl ay source rock overl i es t he
oil - fill ed sandst one, act ing as part of t he seal . However, t he
t rapped oil i s most l y deri ved fr om wi t hi n t he ri ft vall ey, on t he
sout h si de of t he fi el d, where sour ce rock i s t hi cker and hot t er.
The oil has mi grat ed t o t he fi el d area at some t i me aft er a
mudrock seal was l ai d down 70 milli on years aft er t he sand. Oi l i s prevent ed fr om l eaki ng out at t he
faul t s, or from t he er oded edges of t he sandst one, by t hi s seal . About one cubi c kil omet r e of t he sand
i s fill ed wi t h 150 billi on li t res of oi l over an area of 30 squar e ki l omet res.
Sout h Br ae Field cont ai ns oil and gas i n t he sandy debri s
whi ch accumul at ed at t he f oot of a st eep submari ne sl ope.
Thi s coarse sedi ment was deposi t ed al ong t he west ern
edge of t he buri ed ri ft vall ey, i n t he sout hern part of t he
Vi ki ng Graben. At t hi s t i me, 140 milli on years ago, t he
organi c mud of t he Ki mmeri dge Cl ay source rock was
bei ng deposi t ed acr oss t he area. Duri ng epi sodes of
i nst abilit y, fan deposi t s of r ock fragment s and sand spread
out fr om t he submerged, ri ft i ng edge of t he gr aben, whi l e
organi c mud deposi t i on was confi ned t o t he floor of t he
undersea ri ft val l ey away fr om t he st eep mar gi ns. Thus
t he r eser voi r r ocks ar e now f ound as sand sheet s and
wedges of congl omerat e - pebbl es and boul ders i n sand - int erl ayered wi t h bl ack, oil y mudrock. Here,
t herefor e, t he r eservoi r rock i s t he same age as t he source rock. Sout h Brae Fi el d was di scover ed i n
1977, i t s oil bei ng found deeper down t han i n most Nort h Sea fi el ds, wi t hin a maxi mum of t hi ckness of
over 500 met res of r eser voi r rock. The oi l i s hot , gassy and
corr osi ve.
Fort ies Field, di scover ed i n 1970, has hel d well over 500 billi on
li t res of oi l in i t s sandy reservoi r rock. Thi s rock was deposi t ed as
a submari ne fan sedi ment 55 milli on years ago ( F37 and 38) . At
Fort i es Fi el d, t hese sandy l ayer s have draped and sagged across a
hump i n t he underl yi ng rocks. The Mai n Sand reservoi r i s
composed most l y of sandy sedi ment deposi t ed as a submari ne
fan, whi l e much of t he separat e Charl i e Sand accumul at ed wi t hin
feeder channel s of sand fl owing across t he sea fl oor . Oi l has
mi grat ed upwards from Ki mmeri dge Cl ay sour ce r ock wi t hi n t he
buri ed ri ft vall ey, and has t hen t ravel l ed al ong t he sand l ayers. Some of t he mi grat i ng oil has t hen been
t rapped wi t hin t he dome- shaped beds of sandst one above t he underl ying hump.
Shear wat er Field, di scovered i n 1988, l i es i n t he Cent ral Nort h Sea some 225 km ( 138 mi l es) east of
Aberdeen. The gas condensat e r eservoi r dept h i s 4, 545 met res ( 15, 000 ft ) and i s charact eri sed by i t s
ext r emel y high pressur e and hi gh t emperat ur e - 1, 000 bar and approxi mat el y 180 degr ees C. The
pressur e i s equi val ent t o t hree el ephant s st andi ng on a post age st amp. The geol ogi cal st ruct ures dat e
back t o t he Jurassi c Age. The fi el d was brought int o product i on i n 2000 wi t h t he use of cut t ing edge
t echnol ogi es. One days product i on from Shear wat er woul d fuel a famil y car for 1690 year s or heat t he
wat er for 4. 5 mi lli on showers.
Argyll Field, fi rst discover ed i n 1971 ( and now bei ng re-
devel oped as t he Ardmor e Fi el d) , li es on t he west ern edge of t he
buri ed ri ft vall ey - t he Cent ral Graben - i n t he cent ral area of t he
Nort h Sea. I t s oi l li es wi t hin reservoi r rock, whi ch i s much ol der
t han t he source r ock. Oil migrat ed al ong t he ri ft faul t zone from
t he dept hs of t he graben; t he reser voi r li es wit hi n a spur- li ke
bl ock of rock whi ch i s fract ur ed and gent l y fol ded. The bl ock i s
al so fault ed on i t s west ern si de, pr event i ng oil l eakage. The whol e
bl ock i s draped by a seal of much more recent shal e and chal k,
t rappi ng t he oil wit hi n an area of t hi rt een square ki l omet res. The
reservoi r rocks ar e mai nl y l ayers of desert sedi ment s. The l ower
l ayers ar e Devoni an rocks around 360 milli on year s ol d. Above
t hem, Permi an dune sands wi t h all uvi um and lake- bed sedi ment s
are overl ain by li mest one, al l around 250 milli on year s ol d. Deposi t ed as l i my mud- fl at s ar ound an
i nl and sal t sea, t he li mest one makes an unusual reservoi r f or t hi s area. Some of i t s mi neral s have been
di ssol ved out , l eavi ng cavi t i es whi ch now hol d oil .
Oil and gas were di scovered at Ekofisk Field, i n t he Norwegi an sect or, i n 1969. They ar e cont ai ned
wi t hin chal k whi ch i s not normal l y a good reser voi r r ock. Much of t he chal k in t hi s area, however , i s
fr ee of cl ay i mpuri t i es and, mor eover, was sl umped and r e- deposi t ed across t he deeper sea fl oor above
t he Cent ral Graben area. Thi s l eft chal k l ayers wi t h a porous, open t ext ure. The pores wer e lat er fi ll ed
wi t h high- pressur e oil and gas, pr event i ng mineral s fr om subsequent l y bl ocki ng t he pores. Thus t he
por es r emai n open and t he r ock st ays permeabl e t o t he fl ow of oi l and gas. Sal t movement s i n t he area
fract ur ed and domed t he chal k, creat i ng bot h pat hways for hydr ocarbons t o mi grat e up t o t he
reservoi r, and t he st ruct ure t o t rap t hem. Gas has l eaked fr om t he t rap i nt o t he shal es overl yi ng t he
reservoi r.
Leman Field was di scover ed i n 1966. I t i s
t he l argest gas fi el d i n t he sout hern Nort h
Sea, underl yi ng an area of more t han 30 by
10 km off t he Norf ol k coast . The Leman
Bank ar ea i s one of a number of pl aces
acr oss t hi s part of t he Nort h Sea beneat h
whi ch t he chance fact or s f or t he ori gi n,
mi grat i on, cont ai nment , seali ng and
t rappi ng of gas have come t oget her i n t he
ci rcumst ances descri bed in pages 18 and
19. The gas ori gi nat es fr om t he coal -
beari ng shal es of t he 300 milli on year- ol d
Coal Measures. The t hi ck, Lat e Per mi an sal t
beds i n t hi s area f orm a very effi ci ent seal
above t he excell ent reser voi r r ock of dune
sands l ai d down i n Earl y Permi an t i mes,
around 270 mi llion years ago.
By 140 mi lli on years ago, cert ai n areas of t he Coal Measur es sour ce rock woul d have r eached a
t emperat ur e of around 150C, at dept h of about 4. 5 km, a suffi ci ent l evel of heat t o generat e gas.
Beneat h Leman Fi el d, however, t he crust has si nce been pushed upwards, li ft i ng t he Coal Measures
back out of t he gas- generat i ng zone. I t i s possi bl e t hat t he gas has ei t her mi grat ed from fl ank areas
i nt o t he r esul t ing dome- shaped t rap or i t may al ready have mi grat ed i nt o t he r eservoi r r ock. At nearby
Hewet t Field t hese same upward movement s all owed gas t o escape past t he Permi an sal t seal . I t t hen
mi grat ed t owards t he surface but was t rapped agai n in t wo sandst one reservoi rs of Earl y Tri assi c age,
around 240 mi lli on year s ol d. These have seal s of shal e and a t hi n sal t layer.
The mai n Permi an reservoi r sandst one was deposi t ed i n a great desert basi n whi ch cover ed t he ar ea
bet ween t he east ern margi n of Engl and and t he Russi an- Poli sh border . Known as Leman Sandst one i n
t he UK and Sl ocht eren Sandst one i n t he Net herl ands, t hi s rock i s part of t he Rot li egend Sandst one
Gr oup. I t i s t he most i mport ant gas r eser voi r rock i n t he sout hern Nort h Sea. However, as t hi s
sandst one becomes more deepl y buri ed i t s reser voi r capaci t y di mini shes because mi neral s preci pi t at e
i n t he pores bet ween t he grai ns. Upl i ft has not r est or ed t he gas- r eservoi r capaci t y of t he r ock.
I n 1959, gas was di scovered i n Rot li egend Sandst one at Groni ngen in t he Net herl ands. The fi el d l at er
proved t o be ver y l arge. Wi t h a t hi ck sal t seal above i t , t he sandst one was f ound t o cont ai n hi ghl y
permeabl e dune sands whi ch hol d much of t he gas. Such an i mport ant di scover y l ed expl orat i on
geol ogi st s t o fol l ow t he dune sands west wards al ong t he di rect i on of t he prevaili ng wind whi ch formed
t hose dunes mi lli ons of year s ago. Thi s brought t hei r at t ent i on i nt o t he ar ea now cover ed by t he
sout hern Nort h Sea - t o a new r egi on of t he Eart hs crust wai t ing t o be sear ched, i t s st ruct ural pat t ern
and geol ogy di scover ed and i t s past envi ronment s deduced - t he era of Nort h Sea expl orat i on had
begun!



Oil and Gas from t he West ern Basins

General l y, expl orat i on of t he basi ns t o t he west of Bri t ain has been sl ower and more di fficul t t han
expl orat i on i n t he Nort h Sea.
I n t he East I ri sh Sea Basi n ( F48) t he gi ant Mor ecambe gas
fi el d was di scovered by Bri t i sh Gas i n 1974 and remai ned t he
onl y commer ci al expl or at i on success unt il t he di scovery of
t he Hami l t on fi el d ( F25, page 16) by Hami l t on Brot her s i n
1990. The Hami lt on discovery was qui ckl y foll owed by t he
Dougl as fi el d ( 1990) , t he Hami l t on Nort h fi eld ( 1991) and
t he Lennox fi el d ( 1992) . These fi el ds are known as t he
Li verpool Bay compl ex, whi ch st art ed gas pr oduct i on t o t he
Poi nt of Ayr t ermi nal in 1995.
The Mor ecambe fi el d i s t he second l argest gas fi el d in t he
U. K. The shal l ow dept h of t he r eser voi r compli cat ed t he
devel opment of t he fi el d and a sl ant ed drilling ri g had t o be
used t o al l ow t he devel opment wel l s t o reach t he part s of t he
reservoi r furt hest f rom t he pr oduct i on pl at form.
The Mor ecambe gas i s t rapped i n Tri assi c sandst ones
beneat h i mpermeabl e mudst one and sal t . The gas ori gi nat ed
i n deeper Carboni fer ous coal s and shal es.
The Faeroe- Shet l and Basi n began t o devel op in t he Permi an
Peri od and cont i nued t o subsi de t hroughout t he Mesozoi c and
Tert i ary Eras. Oi l and gas mi grat ed from t he Ki mmeri dge
Cl ay source r ock i nt o a ri dge of much ol der Devoni an and Carboni fer ous r ocks t hat separat es t he t wo
basi ns. The Cl ai r fi el d is l ocat ed on t hi s ri dge and cont ai ns a vast amount of oi l . The oil i s t rapped i n
fract ur ed Devoni an and Carboni fer ous reservoi r r ocks. Much younger muddy sedi ment s of t he Upper
Cret aceous cover t he ri dge and prevent t he oil from escapi ng t o t he surface. The f ract ures and faul t s i n
t he ol der r ock al l ow t he oi l t o ri se easi l y t o t he hi ghest part of t he ri dge. The f ract ur es are onl y
occasi onall y cut by a well so whet her a wel l will produce a suffi ci ent amount of oi l t o be profi t abl e i s
very di ffi cult t o pr edi ct . The oi l has been bi odegraded by bact eri a t hat were carri ed i nt o t he oil fi el d by
wat er when t he fi el d was al most uncover ed during t he Cret aceous Peri od. As a result of t he
bi odegradat i on t he oil in t he Cl ai r fi el d i s a l ot mor e vi scous t han nor mal Nort h Sea oi l s and does not
fl ow rapi dl y.
Expl orat i on drilli ng cont i nued i n t he Faeroe- Shet l and Basi n wi t hout si gni fi cant success unt il BP
di scovered t he Foi naven fi el d in 1992 ( F49) , foll owed a year l at er by t he Schi ehalli on fi el d. These fi el ds
are 75 kms sout h- east of t he Cl ai r fi el d and wer e di scover ed i n much younger sandst ones, t hat ar e
si mil ar i n age t o t he For t i es sandst one i n t he Nort h Sea. The ri vers t hat swept sands east ward int o t he
Nort h Sea, about 55 milli on years ago, were mat ched by smal l er ri ver s car ryi ng sands west wards ont o
t he cont i nent al shel f. Eart hquakes, al ong faul t s, repeat edl y caused t hese sands t o fl ow down i nt o t he
deep wat ers al ong t he Faer oe- Shet l and Basi n. Once i n deep wat er , t he sands wer e cover ed wi t h mud t o
provi de a seal and form a st r at i graphi c t rap.

The pr esent day wat er dept h in t he area i s over 1, 400 ft . Fl oat i ng Product i on, St orage and Offl oadi ng
( FPSO) vessel s have been used i n t he devel opment of t he Foi naven and Schi ehalli on fi el ds, whil e t he
gi ant Cl ai r fi el d i s bei ng devel oped wi t h a fi xed pl at form and a pi peli ne t o an onshor e t ermi nal .
Foi naven was t he fi rst f i el d i n t he worl d t o have a fi xed sei smi c array on t he seafl oor acr oss t he fi el d.
Thi s will all ow BP t o monit or any changes t o t he sei smi c wave charact er t hr oughout t he li fe of t he fi el d
and act uall y "see" t he oil drai ni ng from t he rock sei smi call y. Thi s will ensure al l t he sands are drai ned
effi ci ent l y.

EXPLORATI ON
Discovering t he Underground St ruct ure
I nt roduct ion
Large- scal e geol ogi cal st ruct ur es t hat mi ght hol d oil or gas reservoi rs ar e i nvari abl y l ocat ed beneat h
non- product i ve r ocks, and i n addi t i on t hi s i s oft en bel ow t he sea. Geophysi cal met hods can penet rat e
t hem t o pr oduce a pi ct ure of t he pat t ern of t he hi dden r ocks. Rel at i vel y i nexpensi ve gravi t y and
geomagnet i c surveys can ident i fy pot ent i all y oil- beari ng sedi ment ary basi ns, but cost l y sei smic surveys
are essent i al t o di scover oi l and gas beari ng st ruct ures.
Sedi ment ary r ocks ar e general l y of l ow densi t y and poorl y magnet ic, and are oft en underl ai n by
st rongl y magnet i c, dense basement r ocks. By measuri ng anomali es or vari at i ons from t he regi onal
average, a t hree- di mensi onal pi ct ure can be cal cul at ed. Modern gravi t y surveys show a generali sed
pi ct ure of t he sedi ment ary basi ns. Recent l y, high resol ut i on aero- magnet i c surveys fl own by speci all y
equi pped ai rcraft at 70 - 100m al t i t ude show fault t races and near surf ace vol cani c rocks.
Shoot ing seismic sur veys
Mor e det ai l ed i nformat ion about t he r ock l ayers wi t hi n such an area can be obt ai ned by deep echo-
soundi ng, or sei smi c ref l ect i on surveys. I n offshor e ar eas t hese surveys are undert aken by a shi p ( F52)
t owi ng bot h a submerged ai r or wat er gun array, t o produce short bur st s of sound energy, and a set of
st reamers of several kilomet res l engt h. Each st reamer cont ai ns a dense ar ray of hydrophone groups
t hat coll ect and pass t o recorders echoes of sound from refl ect i ng l ayer s. The dept hs of t he refl ect i ng
l ayers are cal cul at ed from t he t i me t aken for t he sound t o r each t he hydrophones vi a t he r efl ect or; t hi s
i s known as t he t wo- way t ravel t i me ( F50a & b) . The pul se of sound from t he guns radi at es out as a
hemi spheri cal wave fr ont , a port i on of whi ch will be refl ect ed back t owards t he hydrophones fr om rock
i nt erfaces ( F50a) . The pat h of t he mi nut e port i on of t he r efl ect ed wave- f r ont i nt ercept ed by a
hydrophone group i s call ed a ray pat h. Hydr ophone gr oups spaced al ong t he st r eamer pi ck out ray
pat hs t hat can be r el at ed t o speci fi c point s on t he r efl ect or surface ( F50c) . Graphs of t he i nt ensi t y of
t he r ecorded sound pl ot t ed agai nst t he t wo- way t i me are di spl ayed as wi ggl e t races ( F50b) .
Sei smi c recordi ng at sea al ways uses t he common dept h poi nt ( CDP) met hod ( F50c & d) . A sequence of
regul arl y spaced sei smic shot s i s made as t he survey vessel accurat el y navi gat es i t s cour se. Shot s ar e
usuall y t i med t o occur at di st ances equal t o t he separat i on of t he hydrophone gr oups. I n t hi s way up t o
120 recordi ngs of t he echoes fr om any one of 240 refl ect i ng point s can be col l ect ed. Each represent s
sound, whi ch has f ol l owed a sl i ght l y di fferent ray pat h, but has all been r efl ect ed f r om t he same
common dept h poi nt .

Processing
Processi ng recordi ngs i nvol ves many st ages of si gnal processi ng and comput er summi ng. Fi rst ly, wi ggl e
t races fr om a si ngl e CDP are coll ect ed i nt o groups. Di spl ayed si de by si de i n sequence t hey f orm a CDP
gat her ( F51a & b) . Refl ect i ons fr om any one r efl ect or form a hyperboli c curve on t he gat her because
t he sound t akes l onger t o t ravel t o t he mor e di st ant hydrophones. Thi s ef fect i s cal l ed normal move out
( NMO) . Corr ect i on i s needed t o bri ng t he pulses t o a hori zont al ali gnment , as i f t hey al l came f rom
vert i call y bel ow t he sound source ( F51c) . The separat e wi ggl e t races are added t oget her, or st acked
( F51d) . St acki ng causes t rue refl ect i on pul ses t o enhance one anot her, and hopefull y, random noi se will
cancel out . Thi s process i s repeat ed for all t he CDPs on t he sur vey line. The st acked and corr ect ed
wi ggl e t races ar e di spl ayed si de by si de t o gi ve a sei smi c sect i on ( F51e) . Most sei smi c sect i ons used by
t he oi l and gas i ndust ry ar e t i me- sect i ons t hat have undergone a l ong sequence of dat a- pr ocessi ng
st eps desi gned t o i mprove t he quali t y of t he refl ect i ons and bri ng out subt l e geol ogi cal feat ures. For
part i cul ar purposes, aft er t he pri nci pal refl ect or s have been i dent i fi ed or pi cked, a t i me- sect i on may be
convert ed t o a dept h- sect i on ( F54) . For t hi s and al so for NMO cor r ect i ons bef or e st acki ng, t he vel oci t i es
of sound i n t he r ock l ayers t raver sed by t he sect i on need t o be known. Comput er anal ysi s of t races
duri ng NMO cor rect i ons yi el ds vel oci t y val ues, but mor e accurat e dat a comes fr om speci al vel oci t y
surveys car ri ed in well s i n
conj unct i on wi t h soni c loggi ng.
Dat a processi ng l essens t he i mpact
of vari ous undesi rabl e eff ect s t hat
obscure t he refl ect ed si gnal s; i t
al so compensat es f or some i nt rinsi c
defi ci enci es of t he CDP met hod.
Undesi rabl e effect s ( F53b) i ncl ude
mul t ipl es, wher e t he sound i s
refl ect ed r epeat edl y wit hi n a rock
for mat i on and, because t hi s t akes
t i me, regi st er s as a deeper
refl ect or; r efl ect i ons bet ween t he
wat er surf ace and t he seabed ar e a
si mil ar phenomenon known as
ri ngi ng. Di ffract i ons ar e hyperbol i c
refl ect i ons fr om t he br oken end of
a refl ect or; t hey mi mi c arched
for mat i ons. Random noi se, mai nl y
unwant ed refl ect i ons f rom wi t hin
rock l ayers, hori zont all y propagat ed and r efract ed sound, bubbl e pul sat i ons from t he ai rguns and ot her
eff ect s al so need t o be reduced. St acki ng reduces mul t i pl es and random noi se, but t he mai n comput er
processi ng st eps ar e deconvol ut i on, mut i ng and fil t eri ng, and mi grat i on. Deconvol ut i on ( decon) ai ms
t o count eract t he bl urring of r efl ect ed sound by recompr essi ng t he sound t o t he cl ean spi ke emi t t ed
from t he sour ce. The r esul t i s cl earer refl ect i ons and t he suppr essi on of mul t i pl es. Mut i ng cut s out part s
of t races embodyi ng maj or defect s such as non- refl ect ed si gnal s; fil t eri ng removes undesi rabl e noi se t o
enhance t he best refl ect i ons. Fi nall y, mi grat i on corr ect s di st ort i ons caused by pl ot t i ng incli ned refl ect ors
as i f t hey were hori zont al and vert i call y bel ow t he mi dpoi nt bet ween shot and recei ver; i t al so col l apses
di ffract i ons ( F53a) . I n t hi s process, t he sei smi c energy i s r el ocat ed t o i t s t rue subsurf ace locat i on,
ready f or i nt erpret at i on.

I nt erpr et at ion
Sei smi c sect i ons provi de 2- di mensi onal vi ews of underground st ruct ure.
By usi ng speci al shoot ing t echni ques such as spaced ai rgun arrays or
t owi ng t he st reamer sl ant wi se, or by shoot i ng ver y cl osel y spaced l i nes, it
i s possi bl e t o produce 3- di mensi onal ( 3D) seismi c i mages ( F59) . These
i mages compri se vert i cal sect i ons and
hori zont al sect i ons ( t i me- sl i ces) .
Sei smi c st rat i graphy i s t he st udy of
t he deposi t i onal int err el at i onshi ps of
sedi ment ary rock as deduced fr om an
i nt erpr et at i on of sei smic dat a; i t can
be used i n fi nding subt le sedi ment ary
t raps i nvol ving changes i n porosi t y.
Bri ght - spot s, short l engt hs of a refl ect i on t hat ar e conspi cuousl y st r onger t han adj acent port i ons may
i ndi cat e gas: t he vel oci t y of sound i s sharpl y reduced i n gas- bear i ng rock, pr oduci ng a st r ongl y
refl ect i ve cont r ast . A gas- wat er or gas- oi l int erface may st and out as a not i ceabl y fl at refl ect i on
amongst arched r efl ect i ons ( F56) .
The end- product s of sei smi c surveys ar e i nt erpret ed sect i ons showi ng
geol ogi cal st ruct ure down t o fi ne sedi ment ary det ai l s. Maps ar e used
t o descri be t he t opol ogy of known r ock uni t s and i sopach maps are
showi ng t he t hi ckness of t hese uni t s. For t he maps, r efl ect i ons ar e
pi cked and t hei r dept hs at poi nt s al ong parall el and int ersect i ng
survey l i nes pl ot t ed and cont oured.
Sei smi c sect i ons t hat have been pi cked by hand ar e di gi t i sed and t he
di git al fil es ent er ed i nt o a gri ddi ng and cont ouri ng program. Cont our
maps ( F58) can be pl ot t ed or 3D col our and shade enhanced i mages
( F61) can be generat ed t o ill ust rat e t he subsurf ace st ruct ure. Some
rock l ayers produce wi ggl es wi t h a di st i nct i ve charact er t hat can be
fol l owed ri ght across a sect i on; ot hers may be i dent i fi ed by
compari son wi t h synt het i c sei smograms made from l oggi ng and vel oci t y sur veys i n exi st i ng well s i n
whi ch t he rock sequence i s known.

The sei smi c maps ar e used t o i dent i fy st ruct ur es t hat woul d ei t her r epay more det ai l ed sei smi c
surveyi ng or woul d warr ant wil dcat drilling. The i nt erpr et er st udi es t he maps t o i dent i fy ar eas t hat are
shall ower and form a dome shape ( an ant i cline) or a shall ow area sur r ounded by faul t s ( a hor st bl ock) -
wi t hin such st ruct ur es i t i s possi bl e t hat migrat ing oil or gas may have
been t rapped.
I ni t i all y 3D sei smi c surveys ( F60) wer e used over t he rel at i vel y small
areas of t he oi l and gasfi el ds wher e a more det ail ed subsurface pi ct ure
was needed t o hel p i mprove t he posi t i on of product i on well s, and so
enabl e t he fi el ds t o be drai ned wi t h maxi mum effi ci ency. I n t he earl y
1990s, when expl orat i on i n t he Nort h Sea shi ft ed t o smal l er and more
subt l e t raps, 3D sei smi c surveys became mor e wi del y used for
expl orat i on work. The vast amount of dat a generat ed by even a smal l
3D sur vey meant t hat comput er workst at i ons wer e an essent i al t ool for i nt erpret i ng t he dat a qui ckl y.
Wi t h a comput er an i nt erpr et er can map a speci fi c refl ect or by movi ng t he cur sor al ong i t on t he scr een
or, when a r efl ect or i s st rong and cont i nuous, t he comput er can aut o- pi ck t hat hori zon t hrough t he
whol e 3D dat a set . Di gi t al fil es of r efl ect or pi cks can be t ransferr ed di rect l y from t he i nt erpr et er s
wor kst at i on t o mappi ng soft war e. Vi suali sat i on soft ware ( F63) i s an addi t i onal t ool t hat all ows t he
i nt erpr et er t o vi ew t he whol e 3D dat a set as a cube and rot at e or cut i t at any angl e, al l owi ng a pi ct ure
of t he subsurface geomet ry t o be qui ckl y seen.
Lat est development s

Recent i ncreases i n comput i ng capaci t y have enabl ed t he mi grat i on process t o be appl i ed befor e st ack,
i . e. on t he vast amount s of dat a coll ect ed i n t he acqui si t i on phase. Thi s pre- st ack dept h mi grat i on
( PSDM) appli cat i on i s cri t i cal in areas wi t h compl ex geol ogi cal subsur face st ruct ur es, such as
around/ bel ow sal t domes and ot her hi gh- vel oci t y l ayers. Thi s has l ed t o t he fi rst rel i abl e sei smic i mages
of sedi ment s l ocat ed bel ow such compli cat ed overburden st ruct ur es.

Because of t he gr eat l y improved sei smi c resol ut i on of 3D sei smi c i magi ng, t here has been an eff ort t o
reduce t he cost of 3D dat a acqui si t i on and short en t he t i me i t t akes t o acqui re and process t he l arge
vol umes of dat a acqui red. I n t he past i t coul d t ake up t o 24 mont hs t o pr ocess t he r ecordi ngs fr om a
3D survey. Acqui si t i on t i me has been cut by speci all y desi gned survey vessel s depl oyi ng up t o t en
mul t ipl e st reamers at a t i me ( F62) , or by usi ng mult i pl e vessel s. These t echni ques all ow a swat h of
sei smi c dat a t o be acqui red i n t he same t i me i t previ ousl y t ook t o record a si ngl e 2- di mensional li ne.
Speci all y desi gned paravanes st eer t he cabl es away fr om each ot her. Thei r desi gn reduces t he drag of
t he st r eamer array, whi ch ordi naril y woul d be suffi ci ent t o st op even quit e a powerful vessel. Modern
st reamers have mul t i ple gl obal posi t i oni ng syst em ( GPS) sensor s t hat const ant l y record t he posi t i on of
t he st r eamer s rel at i ve t o t he vessel and t he ear t h.

New t echni ques of dat a compr essi on are bei ng t ri ed t o all ow t he t ransmi ssi on of t he raw sei smi c
records f rom t he acqui si t i on vessel t o t he shor e for i mmedi at e processi ng, i n an effort t o get t he dat a
t o t he i nt erpr et er s fast er.
I mproved resol ut i on and reduced acqui sit i on/ processi ng t i mes have opened up t he possi bili t y of
shoot i ng sei smi c at di ffer ent t i me int erval s over t he same ar ea of a pr oduci ng fi el d, i n order t o det ect
changes. These changes wi t h t i me will cl ari fy how a fi el d i s behavi ng by r eveali ng exact l y wher e t he
fl ui ds are or are not movi ng, or by reveal i ng changes i n pressure i n di fferent part s of t he fi el d, t hereby
i ndi cat ing how product ion mi ght be i mproved. Thi s i s t he so- call ed 4D or t i me- l apse sei smic, wher e
t i me i s essent i all y t he "fourt h di mensi on". Resul t s i n recent year s have been qui t e ast oni shi ng.

I f sei smi c i s t o be acqui red at regul ar i nt erval s over t he same fi el d, t hen i t can be economi c t o
permanent l y inst all an array of hydr ophones on cabl es buri ed j ust beneat h t he seafl oor . BP has done
t hi s i n t he Foi naven fi el d ( F49) , for exampl e, wi t h t he ai m of shoot i ng over t he ar ray wi t h a sei smi c
vessel once a year .
Anot her r ecent devel opment i s t hat vi suali sat ion has been t aken t o a new l evel wi t h t he advent of
Vi rt ual Reali t y rooms ( F63 & 64) , all owing 3D subsurface i mages t o be di spl ayed on l arge scr eens and
t o be vi ewed f rom al most any angl e. Di fferent devel opment opt i ons, such as t he i mpact of vari ous
drilli ng t arget s, can be si mul at ed. Much of t he benefi t of t hi s appr oach st ems f rom t he f act t hat
communi cat i on and under st andi ng are great l y enhanced when mult i - di sci pline t eams meet whil st
"i mmersed" i n such an envi ronment .


Drilling



Ther e are t wo basi c t ypes of drilli ng ri gs - fi xed pl at form ri gs and mobil e ri gs. Fi xed pl at form ri gs are
i nst all ed on l arge off shore pl at forms and remai n i n pl ace for many years. Most of t he l arge fi elds i n t he
Nort h Sea such as Fort ies and Br ent wer e devel oped usi ng fi xed pl at for m ri gs.
Mobil e ri gs compri se t wo t ypes: j ack- up ri gs ( F66) used i n shall ow wat er
l ess t han 100 met r es deep and semi - submer si bl e ri gs ( F65) used in
deeper wat ers down t o 1000 met r es or mor e. I n very deep wat er s,
drilli ng shi ps are used. Jack- up ri gs have l at t i ce l egs whi ch are l owered
t o t he seabed befor e t he fl oat i ng sect i on carryi ng t he derri ck i s rai sed
above t he sea surface. Semi - submer si bl e ri gs fl oat at al l t i mes, but
when i n posi t i on for dri lling are anchor ed and ball ast ed t o fl oat l ower i n
t he wat er wi t h t hei r pont oons bel ow wave- l evel . Some have dynami c-
posi t i oning propell ers and can dri ll in ver y deep wat er.
The dri lling derri ck t ower s above t he dri ll fl oor ( F71) and i s where most of
t he act i vit y i s concent rat ed. The der ri ck support s t he wei ght of t he
drill st ri ng ( F72) whi ch i s screwed t oget her f r om 9- met r e l engt hs of drill
pi pe. Hoi st i ng equi pment in t he derri ck can rai se or l ower t he dri ll st ring. At
t he bot t om of t he dri ll st ri ng i s a dri ll bi t ( F67 & F70) , whi ch can var y i n si ze
and t ype. I t i s at t ached t o t he drill coll ars, heavy pi pe- sect i ons t hat put
wei ght on t he bi t . On semi - submersi bl e rigs, a compensat or keeps t he
drill st ri ng st at i onary whil e t he ri g and derri ck move as a resul t of wave
mot i on. The dri ll bi t i s rot at ed ei t her by t urni ng t he whol e dri ll st ri ng ( "rot ary
drilli ng") or by usi ng a downhol e t urbi ne whi ch rot at es as drilli ng fl ui d i s
pumped t hrough i t . I n r ot ary dri lling, t he rot ary mot i on i s i mpart ed t o t he dri ll st ri ng by t he "t op dri ve".
Thi s i s an el ect ro- hydrauli c mot or suspended i n t he t op of t he derri ck. I t i s at t ached t o t he t op of t he
drill st ri ng and i mpart s t orque t o i t , causi ng i t t o rot at e. To add a new sect i on of dri ll pi pe t he drill st ri ng
i s cl amped i n t he drill fl oor wi t h wedges ( slips) and t he t op dri ve di sconnect ed. The new j oi nt i s
scr ewed i nt o t he dri ll st ri ng suspended i n t he drill fl oor, t he t op dri ve connect ed t o t he t op of t he new
j oi nt , and drilling rest ar t ed. The r ai sing and l oweri ng of t he t op dri ve and t he mai nt enance of corr ect
t ensi on on t he dri ll st ri ng i s cont rol l ed by t he drill er operat i ng t he drawworks l ever i n a cont rol cabin
( F69) ( call ed t he "doghouse") on t he dri ll fl oor .
Dri lling fl ui d ( al so call ed "mud") , whi ch i s mainl y wat er- based, i s pumped
cont i nuousl y down t he drill st ri ng whil e drilli ng. I t l ubri cat es t he drilli ng t ool s,
washes up rock cut t i ngs and most i mport ant l y, bal ances t he pressure of
fl ui ds in t he rock for mat i ons bel ow t o
prevent bl owout s.
I n offshor e dri lling, t he fi rst st ep i s t o put
down a wi de- di amet er conduct or pi pe i nt o
t he seabed t o gui de t he drilli ng and
cont ai n t he drilling fl uid. I t i s drill ed int o
t he seabed f rom semi - submersi bl e ri gs,
but on pr oduct i on pl at for ms a pi l e- dri ver may be used. As dri lling
cont i nues, compl et ed sect i ons of t he wel l are cased wi t h st eel pi pe
cement ed i nt o pl ace. A bl owout prevent er i s at t ached t o t he t op of t he
casi ng. Thi s i s a st ack of hydrauli c rams whi ch can cl ose off t he wel l
i nst ant l y i f back pressure ( a ki ck) devel ops f rom invadi ng oil , gas or
wat er .
A t ypi cal probl em faced whil e drilling i s t he drill st ri ng st i cki ng in di ffi cult rock format i ons such as t he
t hi ck Tert i ary cl ays i n t he Nort h Sea. A hydrauli c devi ce known as a j ar, mount ed bet ween t he drill
col l ars, can gi ve t he dri ll st ri ng a seri es of j ol t s. I f t hat does not work, ot her t echni ques may be used,
i ncl uding spot t i ng wi t h oil and wat er. Speci al fi shi ng t ool s can al so ret ri eve st uck pi pe and broken
equi pment ( j unk) .
Dri lling gri nds up t he rock i nt o t ea- l eaf- si zed cut t ings whi ch are br ought
t o t he surface by t he drilli ng mud. The drilling mud i s passed over a
shal e shaker whi ch si eves out t he cut t i ngs ( see F115, page 64) . I n
expl orat i on drilli ng, t he cut t ings are t aken f or exami nat i on by a geol ogist
known as a mudl ogger who i s const ant l y on t he l ookout for oi l and gas.
Oil ent rapped i n t he mud i s det ect ed by i t s fl uorescence i n UV li ght . Gas
i s ext ract ed f rom t he mud i n a gas t rap and sent under vacuum t o a gas
det ect or and anal yser. An i ncrease i n t he amount t ri ggers an al arm t o
al ert t he mudl ogger and t he drilling superi nt endent . I f l aborat ory t est s
are needed on pot ent i al reservoi r rock, a soli d cor e of r ock can be dri ll ed
by a speci al holl ow drilli ng bit . Each short l engt h of core r et ri eved cal ls
for t he ent i re drill st ri ng t o be pull ed out of t he wel l and t hen rei nsert ed,
so cori ng i s an expensi ve operat i on not undert aken l i ght l y.

Get t ing t he Most out of a Well

Vi t al i nformat i on on t he t ype of r ock dri ll ed and t he fl uids i t cont ains oft en
needs t o be obt ai ned ei t her whi l e act uall y drilli ng, or aft er dri lling bef or e
running casi ng ( F74) . Thi s i s obt ai ned by running el ect roni c measuri ng devi ces
i nt o t he well - ei t her whil e drilli ng ( as part of t he drill st ri ng) or aft er drilli ng on
"wi reli ne" ( F73) . The vari ous t ypes of measurement i ncl ude: ( 1) el ect ri cal
resi st i vi t y of flui ds wi t hin t he rock; ( 2) t he speed of sound t hrough t he rock; ( 3)
react i on of t he r ock t o gamma ray bombardment ; ( 4) pr oduct i on of gamma
rays fr om fl ui ds wi t hin t he rock due t o neut r on bombardment ; and ( 5) nat ural
gamma radi at i on of t he rocks. The dat a obt ai ned gi ve indi cat i ons of r ock t ype
and por osi t y and t he pr esence of oil or gas.
Ot her devi ces measure hol e di amet er, di p of st rat a and t he di rect i on of t he
hol e. Si dewall corers whi ch punch or drill out small cor es of rock, geophones f or
wel l vel ocit y surveys and sei smi c profili ng are al so l ower ed i nt o uncased well s.
I n devi at ed wel l s approachi ng t he hori zont al , flexi bl e hi gh- pressure st eel coil ed
t ubi ng may be used t o car ry wi reli ne l oggi ng t ool s and f or per formi ng wel l bore
mai nt enance operat i ons.



I f oi l or gas has been det ect ed i n
a wel l , a t ool i s l ower ed on a
wi reli ne t o measure fl ui d
pressur es and col l ect small sampl es. I f t he fl ow rat e of
t he wel l needs t o be measur ed, a "wel l t est " i s car ri ed
out . Thi s i nvol ves running product i on t ubi ng wi t h fl ow
cont r ol val ves and i sol at i on packer s i nt o t he wel l , t hen
fl owi ng t he hydr ocarbons t o surf ace t hr ough t he hi gh
pressur e pi pework cont aini ng pressur e recorders and
fl owmet ers.
DEVELOPMENT
Developing a Discovery
When pr omi si ng amount s of oi l and gas are f ound i n an
expl orat ory wel l , a programme of det ail ed fi eld apprai sal
may begi n. The si ze of t he fi el d must be est abli shed, and
t he most effi ci ent product i on met hod wor ked out i n order
t o assess whet her i t will repay, wi t h profi t , t he huge cost s
of off shore devel opment and day- t o- day operat i on.
Apprai sal may t ake several years t o compl et e and i s i t sel f
very cost l y.
Apprai sal draws t oget her i nformat i on fr om al l avai l abl e
t echni ques. Det ai l ed sei smi c surveys buil d up an accurat e
3- di mensi onal i mage of t he di scover y, and apprai sal well s
are dri ll ed t o confi rm t he si ze and st ruct ur e of t he fi el d ( F75) . Wi reli ne l ogging in each new well yi el ds
dat a on porosi t y and fl ui d sat urat i on and t he t hi ckness of t he hydrocarbon- beari ng rocks, whi l e
product i on t est i ng yi el ds hydrocarbon sampl es and i nformat i on on reservoi r pr oduct i vi t y, t emperat ur es
and pressur es. Oi l , gas and reservoi r rock sampl es are anal ysed in t he laborat ory. Most fi el ds have bot h
good and bad feat ures whi ch must be full y consi dered when deci ding whet her t o devel op.

Product i on may pr ove di ffi cul t and expensi ve i f t he reservoi r rock i s seri ousl y di srupt ed by fault i ng or
cont ai ns ext ensi ve ar eas of poor permeabili t y. Por osi t y and permeabi lit y may vary dramat i cally wher e
t he r eser voi r rock consi st s of a vari et y of sediment s ( F78 - 80) , and may be much r educed i n areas
wher e mi neral growt h has bl ocked t he avai l abl e pore spaces. Geol ogist s compar e core sampl es from
t he deepl y buri ed reser voi r rock wi t h present - day sedi ment s t o i dent i fy t he envi ronment i n whi ch it
accumul at ed. Thi s envi ronment i s used t o devel op a geol ogi cal model t o hel p pr edi ct li kel y variat i ons i n
t he reservoi r rock t ypes and propert i es. I f, f or exampl e, t he best - qualit y reservoi r rock i s a dune sand
or a beach sand, i t s likel y ext ent and t hi ckness can be est i mat ed from t he si ze and shape of a
comparabl e modern dune compl ex or beach. The i dent i fi cat i on of mi cr ofossi l s t hat inhabi t ed part i cul ar
envi ronment s, such as shall ow seas or bracki sh l agoons, hel ps confi rm t he model , as well as indi cat i ng
t he age of t he r eservoi r rock ( F76 & 77) . Geol ogi st s and reservoi r engi neers use t he geol ogical model
t o sel ect t he best si t es f or pr oduct i on wel l s.
St udi es i n t he Brent Fi eld showed t hat t he reser voi r rocks
most cl osel y r esembl e t he sedi ment s deposi t ed i n a l arge
del t a. Thi s geol ogi cal model expl ained t he i nt erlayeri ng of
muddy, poorl y permeabl e rocks wi t h bet t er quali t y
reservoi r sandst ones. F78 shows t he vari ed del t a
envi ronment s wher e t hese r ocks may have accumul at ed,
and F79 indi cat es t he envi ronment s t hat pr oduced t he
bet t er quali t y reservoi r r ocks. Such anal ysi s suggest ed
t he possi bili t y of findi ng mor e oi l fi elds wi t hi n t hi s anci ent
del t a beneat h t he nort hern Nort h Sea. Furt her
expl orat i on proved t hi s t o be so; t hese del t ai c rocks ar e
t he most pr ol i fi c oil reservoi rs i n t he Nort h Sea.


How Much Oil and Gas?


When deci di ng whet her t o devel op a fi el d, a company must est i mat e how much oi l and gas wi ll be
recovered and how easil y t hey will be pr oduced. Al t hough t he vol ume of oi l and gas i n pl ace can be
est i mat ed fr om t he vol ume of t he r eser voi r, i t s por osi t y, and t he amount of oi l or gas i n t he por e
spaces, onl y a proport i on of t hi s amount will be recovered. Thi s proport i on i s t he recover y fact or, and i s
det ermi ned by vari ous fact ors such as reservoi r di mensi ons, pressur e, t he nat ure of t he hydr ocarbon,
and t he devel opment pl an.
Pressure i s t he dri vi ng for ce i n oil and gas product i on. Reser voi r dri ve i s power ed by t he di ffer ence i n
pressur es wi t hi n t he reservoi r and t he well ( F82) , whi ch can be t hought of as a col umn of l ow sur face
pressur e l et i nt o t he highl y pressured r eservoi r. I f permeabi li t y i s good and t he reservoi r flui ds fl ow
easi l y, oil , gas and wat er wi ll be dri ven by nat ural depl et i on int o t he wel l and up t o t he surface.
Expansi on of t he gas cap and wat er dri ves oil t owards t he wel l bore. Gas and wat er occupy t he space
vacat ed by t he oil . I n reservoi rs wi t h insuffi cient nat ural dri ve ener gy, wat er or gas i s i nj ect ed t o
mai nt ain t he reservoi r pressur e.
The proport i on of oi l t hat can be recovered f rom a reservoi r i s dependent on t he ease wi t h whi ch oil in
t he por e spaces can be r epl aced by ot her fl ui ds li ke wat er or gas. Test s on r eservoi r r ock i n t he
l aborat ory i ndi cat e t he f ract i on of t he ori gi nal oil i n pl ace t hat can be r ecovered. Vi scous oi l i s di ffi cul t t o
di spl ace by l ess vi scous fl uids such as wat er or gas as t he di spl aci ng fl uids t end t o channel t hei r way
t owards t he wel l s, l eaving a l ot of oi l in t he reservoi r. The quot ed recovery fact or for most Nort h Sea
fi el ds i s about 35 percent , but may be as l ow as 9 percent wher e t he oil i s very vi scous, or per haps as
hi gh as 70 per cent where r eser voi r pr opert i es are except i onall y good and t he oi l of l ow vi scosi t y. The
recovery fact or i n gasfi el ds i s much hi gher, fi gures of over 85 per cent bei ng quot ed for most .
Each oi l and gas reser voi r i s a uni que syst em of r ocks and fl ui ds t hat must be underst ood bef or e
product i on i s pl anned. Pet r ol eum engi neers use all t he avail abl e dat a t o devel op a mat hemat i cal model
of t he r eser voi r. Comput er si mul at i ons of di ffer ent pr oduct i on t echniques are t ri ed on t hi s reservoi r
engi neeri ng model t o predi ct reservoi r behavi our during product i on, and sel ect t he most eff ect i ve
met hod of recovery. For exampl e, i f t oo few product i on wel l s are drilled wat er may cusp or channel
t owards t he wel l s, l eaving l arge ar eas of t he reservoi r upswept .
Fact or s, such as const r uct i on requi rement s, cost infl at i on and fut ure oil pri ces must al so be consi dered
when deci ding whet her t o devel op an oil or gas fi el d. When a company i s sat i sfi ed wi t h t he pl ans for
devel opment and product i on, t hey must be approved by t he Government , whi ch moni t ors al l aspect s of
off shor e devel opment .

PRODUCTI ON
The Offshore Challenge

When devel opment of t he Nort h Sea fi el ds began i n t he mi d- 60s, t he
i ndust ry had never befor e faced such a host il e envi ronment . Whilst
si mpl e pl at form desi gns deri ved fr om t hose used i n t he Gul f of Mexico
suffi ced f or t he shall ow sout hern Nort h Sea, t he severe st orms and great
wat er dept hs of t he nor t hern Nort h Sea call ed for maj or engi neeri ng and
t echnol ogi cal i nnovat i on ( F84) . Pr oduct i on facilit i es had t o be desi gned
t o wi t hst and wi nd gust s of 180 km/ hour and waves 30 met res hi gh.
Ot her pr obl ems i ncl uded t he ever- pr esent sal t - wat er cor rosi on and
fouli ng by mari ne or gani sms. Deal i ng wi t h t he many under wat er
const ruct i on and maint enance t asks fal l s t o di vers and r emot el y
operat ed vehi cl es. Gi ant fl oat ing cranes ( F83) desi gned t o li ft ever
great er l oads were commi ssi oned and many ot her speci ali sed craft had
t o be devel oped t o est abli sh and servi ce t he off shore i ndust ry. Huge
heli copt er fl eet s wer e needed t o f er ry worker s t o and from t he pl at for ms
and ri gs.
I n r ecent years, as t he Nort h Sea i ndust ry has reached mat uri t y, most
new devel opment s do not ent ail massi ve new product i on pl at for ms.
I nst ead, t he t endency has been t o use exi st ing i nfrast ruct ur e f or new
devel opment s. Thi s has t wo benefi t s - i t ext ends t he economi c l i fe of
t hat infrast ruct ur e, and means t hat smal l accumul at i ons can be
devel oped economi cal l y. Most Nort h Sea fi nds now ar e r el at i vel y small
compared wi t h t he earli er gi ant s such as Fort ies and Brent . Ther e has
been an ongoi ng dri ve t o make t he i ndust ry increasi ngl y cost eff ect i ve,
wi t hout compromi si ng safet y or envi ronment al fact ors, so t hat t he Nor t h
Sea i ndust ry can cont inue t o wi n invest ment for new proj ect s, i n
compet i t i on wi t h t he rest of t he worl d.
Product ion Plat forms

Most oi l and gas product i on pl at forms i n offshor e Bri t ai n rest on st eel
support s known as j acket s, a t erm deri ved f r om t he Gul f of Mexi co. A
small number of pl at for ms are fabri cat ed fr om concret e. The st eel j acket ,
fabri cat ed f rom wel ded pi pe, i s pi nned t o t he sea fl oor wi t h st eel pil es.
Above i t are pr efabri cat ed uni t s or modul es provi di ng accommodat i on
and housi ng vari ous f acili t i es i ncl uding gas t urbi ne generat i ng set s.
Toweri ng above t he modul es are t he drilli ng ri g derri ck ( t wo on some
pl at forms) , t he fl are st ack i n some desi gns ( also fr equent l y cant il ever ed
out wards) and servi ce cranes. Hori zont al surfaces ar e t aken up by st or e
areas, dri lling pi pe deck and t he vi t al heli copt er pad.
Concr et e gravi t y pl at forms ar e so- call ed because t hei r great wei ght holds
t hem fi rml y on t he seabed. They wer e fi rst devel oped t o provi de st orage
capaci t y i n oil fi el ds wher e t anker s wer e used t o t ransport oi l , and t o
eli mi nat e t he need for piling in hard seabeds. The Brent D pl at for m
( F87) , whi ch wei ghs mor e t han 200 000 t onnes, was desi gned t o st or e
over a mi lli on barrel s of oi l . But st eel pl at forms, i n whi ch t here have been desi gn advances, are now
favoured over concret e ones.

Several pl at forms may have t o be i nst all ed t o expl oi t t he l arger fi el ds, but wher e t he capaci t y of an
exi st i ng pl at form permi t s, subsea coll ect i ng syst ems l i nked t o i t by pi peli nes have been devel oped usi ng
t he most modern t echnol ogy. They wi ll be i ncreasi ngl y used as smal l er fi el ds ar e devel oped. For very
deep wat er s, one sol ut ion was t he Hut t on Tensi on Leg Pl at form: t he buoyant pl at form, resembling a
huge drilli ng ri g, i s t et her ed t o t he sea- bed by j oi nt ed l egs kept i n t ensi on by comput er- cont r oll ed
ball ast adj ust ment s.
Al t ernat i vel y, a subsea col l ect i on syst em may be l inked vi a a pr oduct i on ri ser t o a Fl oat i ng, Pr oduct i on,
St orage and Offl oadi ng ( FSPO) vessel ( F88) ; eit her a purpose buil t ship or a convert ed t anker or semi -
submer si bl e ri g. The oi l i s offl oaded by a shut t l e t anker .

Const ruct ion and I nst allat ion

The scal e of off shor e oi l and gas const ruct i on proj ect s i s vast , especi ally
for t he oi l fi el ds of t he nort hern Nort h Sea. The l arge fi el ds di scovered i n
t he earl y 1970s t ook an average of fi ve year s f rom t he begi nning of
devel opment t o t he dat e of pr oduct i on st art - up, and each cost over a
billi on pounds i n 1987 pri ces. The UK Cont i nent al Shel f has recei ved
190 billi on ( at 2000 pri ces) of i nvest ment si nce expl orat i on began. A
furt her 100 bi lli on has been spent on oper at i ng cost s whi ch, at 4
billi on per year, now makes up hal f of t he t ot al annual expendi t ure - a
l evel whi ch i s expect ed t o cont i nue for several years. I n t he t en years up
t o 2000, t he i ndust ry account ed for 17 per cent of al l UK capi t al
i nvest ment . Over t he l ast 20 years t he bul k of t he i nvest ment
expendi t ure has been made i n Bri t ai n.
As soon as fi el d apprai sal has shown t hat
devel opment woul d be a commerci al success, order s f or t he necessar y
hardwar e and associ at ed pi peli nes go out . I ni t i all y t hi s rout i nely
i nvol ved t he fabri cat i on of pl at forms - some of whi ch have been buil t i n
Scot l and. Fabri cat i on of a pl at form j acket can t ake up t o t wo year s t o
compl et e ( F90) . The fi ni shed j acket must be t owed out t o t he fi el d in
cal m weat her , usual l y duri ng t he ' fi ne weat her wi ndow' of t he summer
mont hs. I t i s l aunched off i t s barge and up- ended i nt o posi t i on by t he
cont r oll ed fl oodi ng of ball ast t anks i n i t s l egs. Aft er pi l es are dri ven t o
secure t he j acket t o t he seabed, barges bri ng t he deck support and product i on modul es t o be li ft ed i nt o
posi t i on on t he j acket ( F89) . Speci all y desi gned crane barges can li ft over 10 000 t onnes. At t hi s st age
of t he pr oj ect , rough weat her can cause seri ous del ays. Concret e pl at forms have been buil t in deep,
shel t ered fj ords or sea l ochs. As new concret e i s pour ed, t he st ruct ur e graduall y si nks. The deck and
modul es are pl aced on t he l egs cl ose t o shor e, t hen t he pl at form i s t owed out t o t he fi el d. Wit h ball ast
wat er pumped i nt o t he st orage t anks, t he pl at for m set t l es fi rml y on t he seabed. I nsi de t he pl at form,
t he hook- up and t est i ng of equi pment ready f or dri lli ng and product ion may t ake anot her season, and
requi re up t o a t housand i nst all at i on worker s, call ed ' bear s' , at any one t i me. Fi nall y, aft er compl et i on
of t he fi rst of t he well s, t he pl at form comes on- st ream, begi nni ng a produci ng li fe of at l east t went y
years.
Mor e r ecent l y, however , t here has been l ess emphasi s on new pr oduct i on pl at forms when new fi el ds
are bei ng devel oped. Thi s i s because most of t he new fi el ds are r el at i vel y small and do not meri t a
st and- al one pl at form. I n t hese cases t he pr eparat or y desi gn and fabri cat i on focuses on seabed
product i on unit s, i ncl uding sophi st i cat ed r emot el y cont rol l ed pumps, wit h links t o exi st i ng pl at forms or
pi peli nes. Somet i mes such devel opment s can now be compl et ed i n mont hs rat her t han year s.
Funct ions of a Product ion Plat form
Oil pl at forms ar e an indust ri al t own at sea, carr yi ng t he personnel and equi pment needed for
cont i nuous hydrocarbon product i on. The most import ant funct i ons are drilli ng, prepari ng wat er or gas
for i nj ect i on int o t he reservoi r, processi ng t he oil and gas befor e sendi ng i t ashore, and cl eaning t he
produced wat er for di sposal i nt o t he sea. Power i s generat ed on t he pl at form t o dri ve product i on
equi pment and support li fe. All product i on syst ems ar e const ant l y moni t or ed f or l eaks, si nce oi l and gas
are hazardous and ext r emel y fl ammabl e.

The t op of each pr oduct i on well sprout s a br anchi ng seri es of pi pes, gauges and val ves call ed t he
Chri st mas t ree ( see F97, page 55) . At t hi s poi nt , crude oi l i s a hot , frot hy, cor rosi ve, hi gh- pressur e
fl ui d cont ai ni ng gas, wat er and sand. Aft er separat i on, t he crude oi l is met er ed and pumped i nt o t he
pi peli ne, or st ored unt il sent ashore by t anker. The gas separat ed fr om t he oil may be used for fuel , or
compressed and pi ped t o shore or re- i nj ect ed i nt o t he reservoi r. Any gas t hat cannot be used or pi ped
ashor e must be burnt in t he pl at forms fl are. Ver y li t t l e gas i s now flared. Pr ocessi ng syst ems for t he
gasfi el ds of t he sout her n Nort h Sea ar e rel at i vel y si mpl e. Any li qui ds dissol ved i n t he gas ar e r emoved,
t hen t he gas i s compressed, cool ed, dehydrat ed and met er ed befor e bei ng pi ped t o shore.
Product ion Wells

To devel op offshor e fi el ds as economi call y as possi bl e, numerous di rect i onal
wel l s radi at e out from a si ngl e pl at form t o drai n a l arge area of r eservoi r ( F94) .
For di rect i onal drilling speci al wei ght ed dri ll collars ar e used wi t h a bent sub t o
defl ect t he dri ll bi t at a cert ai n angl e in t he requi red di rect i on ( F93) . Well s whi ch
devi at e at more t han 65 degr ees f r om t he ver t i cal and reach out hor i zont all y
mor e t han t wi ce t hei r vert i cal dept h are known as ext ended r each wel l s. I n
order for t he drill er t o guide t he devi at ed wel l t o a speci fi c t arget zone i n t he
reservoi r a moni t ori ng- whil e- drilling ( MWD) direct i onal sub i s run above t he bi t
t o r el ay i nformat i on back t o t he surface on t he bi t l ocat i on and i ncli nat ion. Thi s
i nformat i on can be t ransmi t t ed t o t he surface usi ng a mud- pul se t el emet r y
syst em or r ecorded i n t he di rect i onal sub and recovered when t he bi t is
changed.
As t he angl e of devi at i on from t he vert i cal increases, t he f ri ct i on of t he r ot at i ng
drill st ri ng becomes excessi ve. Al so, as dri lling becomes sl ower t he ri sk of
st i cking t he drilli ng assembl y agai nst swelling shal es rapi dl y increases.
Envi ronment al rest ri ct i ons li mi t t he use of f ri ct i on- reduci ng oil - based muds i n
many ar eas, so t hat oi l - cont ami nat ed cut t ings fr om wel l s need t o be shi pped
back f or onshore di sposal . The al t ernat e i s wat er- based whi ch needs addi t i ves
t o r educe i t s fri ct i onal eff ect s, and t o i nhi bit i t s chemi cal react i vi t y wi t h t he
cl ays dri ll ed.
Devi at ed well s whi ch exceed 80 degrees fr om t he
vert i cal are known as hori zont al well s ( F92) and
t he hori zont al sect i on of t he wel l i s mai nt ained i n
t he r eser voi rs t o gi ve t he hi ghest product i on rat e possi bl e. Hori zont al
wel l s are used when t he r eser voi r permeabi lit y i s l ow, or t he reser voi r
i nt erval i s very t hi n or t he oi l and gas i s being produced fr om vert ical
fract ur es i n t he rock. The fl ow f rom a hori zont al well may be over 5 t imes
t he fl ow fr om a normal vert i cal well . The hi gher fl ow rat es mor e t han
off set t he hi gher cost of dri lling a hori zont al well .

Mor e t han one hori zont al sect i on can be drill ed i n one wel l as a mult il at eral wel l ( F96) . Thi s t echni que i s
used t o r educe drilli ng cost s and t o maxi mi se t he number of wel l s t hat can be drill ed from small
pl at forms.
Get t ing Every Last Drop Out
Crude oi l can cont ai n aci di c fl ui ds i ncl uding hydrogen sul phi de and carbon di oxi de whi ch cor rodes
casi ng. I f necessary hi gh grade st eel product i on t ubi ng i s insert ed i nt o t he wel l t o col l ect oil and gas
and prot ect t he casi ng. Access t o t he r eservoir i s achi eved ei t her by perf orat i ng hol es t hrough t he
casi ng i nst all ed across t he r eser voi r usi ng small expl osi ve charges, or by runni ng casi ng wi t h pre- dri ll ed
hol es or sl ot s. Many sandst one r eservoi rs are l i abl e t o coll apse and produce sand al ong wi t h pet r ol eum
- i n t hese wel l s "sand screens" , whi ch fil t er out t he sand part i cl es downhol e, are run. Fl ow from t he well
i s cont rol l ed by val ves on t he "Chri st mas t ree" ( F97) at t he well head.
For smal l er fi el ds, rat her t han bei ng drill ed from a l arge
cent ral pl at form, t he wel l s are drill ed fr om subsea
cl ust ers. For t hese t ypes of well s, t he wel lhead and
Chri st mas t ree i s i nst all ed di rect l y on t he seabed, wi t h
product i on from sever al well s co- mi ngl ed at a subsea
mani fol d. Subsea mani fol ds are oft en l inked by pi peli nes
and umbili cal cont rol lines back t o a nearby pl at form,
wher e engi neer s can cont rol and moni t or t he oil and gas
product i on. Al t ernat i vely, t he pr oduct i on can be pi ped t o
a Fl oat i ng, Product i on, St orage and Offl oading vessel
( FPSO) for pr ocessi ng and export ( F88) . Fl oat i ng
product i on facili t i es are generall y l ess expensi ve t o i nst all
t han fi xed pl at forms but t hei r operat i ng cost s are hi gher.
The di sadvant age of fl oat i ng product i on syst ems i s t he
weat her may prevent t he docki ng of t he offl oadi ng shut t l e t ankers f or several days duri ng t he wi nt er
peri od.
I n oi l reser voi rs, t o achi eve as hi gh a recovery fact or as possi ble
reservoi r pressures must not be al l owed t o fall t oo l ow as oi l and
associ at ed gas ar e r emoved. I t i s desi rabl e t o mai nt ain pressures above
t he poi nt where di ssol ved gas i n t he oi l comes out of sol ut i on t o for m
fr ee gas. Seawat er i s pumped i nt o t he wat er- soaked r ocks beneat h t he
oil zone i n volumes equal t o t he sub- surface vol ume of t he li qui ds
produced. Wat er i nj ect ion wel l s are usuall y l ocat ed around t he peri phery
of an oil fi el d. Gas separat ed fr om oil on t he pl at form may al so be
compressed and i nj ect ed i nt o t he reservoi r r ocks t o mai nt ain pressure.
Wat er and gas i nj ect i on can i mprove recover y of oi l from l ess t han 15
per cent t o mor e t han 50 percent . Ver y deep fi el ds, such as Brae, wi t h hi gh pressur es and t emperat ur es
may yi el d condensat e, a val uabl e li ght oil whi ch exi st s as di ssol ved in gas i n t he reser voi r. Dr y gas will
be i nj ect ed i nt o t he reser voi r t o mai nt ain pressure, t hus avoi di ng condensat e drop out , and t o sweep
t he gas condensat e t o t he wel l s. Downhol e pumps have been used of fshore when reservoi r pressur es
are i nsuffi ci ent t o send t he oil t o t he surface, as i n t he Beat ri ce Fi el d. A more common t echnique i s gas
li ft i n whi ch gas from t he same nearby fi el d i s mi xed wi t h oil i n t he t ubing t o l essen t he weight of t he
li qui d col umn ( F98) .
Fl ow from every oi l and gas wel l i s t est ed and moni t ored
t hroughout t he li fe of t he wel l . Repl acement of worn
equi pment such as t ubi ng and val ves hel ps prol ong t he
li fe of t he wel l . I n l ess product i ve wel l s, wel l st i mulat i on
may be t ri ed. Hi gh- pressure fl uids ar e pumped down t he
wel l t o creat e deep fract ures i n t he reser voi r r ock t hrough
whi ch oil and gas can fl ow. These fract ures are hel d open
by sand grai ns whi ch are forced i nt o t he fract ur e wi t h t he
fl ui d. Aci d st i mul at i on hel ps remove cl oggi ng mi neral
scal e such as cal cium carbonat e whi ch may have
accumul at ed duri ng years of pr oduct i on.
I n ext ended r each and hori zont al well s, coil ed t ubing i s oft en used t o carr y product i on equi pment t o t he
bot t om of t he wel l . Coil ed t ubing i s more fl exi bl e and much qui cker t o use t han t he convent i onal
drill st ri ng.
Working Offshore

At t he peak of Nort h Sea devel opment act i vit y i n 1990, over 36, 000
wor kers were empl oyed in UK offshor e fi el ds. I n 1994, wi t h many more
produci ng fi el ds, about 27, 000 worker s wer e empl oyed. By 2000, wi t h a
t ot al of 200 fi el ds in product i on, a t ot al of about 19, 000 peopl e wer e
empl oyed off shore wi t h mor e fi el ds processes bei ng aut omat ed. For
l ogi st i cal support , t he off shor e oper at i ng compani es have est abli shed
onshore suppl y bases whi ch communi cat e wi t h t he pl at forms, t r ansf er
per sonnel and ensure deli very of food and equi pment . I n recent years
t here have been maj or effort s t o co- ordi nat e and shar e l ogi st ics
requi rement s t o hel p reduce operat i ng
cost s.
A t ypi cal l arge oil fi el d pl at form compl ex
houses a st aff of about 100 men and
women offshor e, suppor t ed by ot her st aff onshore. The l ogi st i cs i nvol ved
are phenomenal . One maj or operat or t ransport s mor e t han 5, 000 peopl e
every mont h t o and f rom t hei r of fshore i nst all at i ons; t he same operat or
t ransport s ar ound 300, 000 t onnes of cargo offshor e every year -
everyt hi ng from st at i oner y, f resh food and veget abl es t o comput er s, gas
t urbi nes, generat ors and speci ali st well equi pment . The same operat or
segregat es and di sposes of 35, 000 t onnes of wast e annuall y. All rubbi sh
i s brought back t o shor e for r esponsi bl e di sposal wi t h an increasi ng focus
on r ecycl i ng wherever possi bl e. Li vi ng quart ers off shor e ar e compact but
comf ort abl e. Food i s good and abundant , but no al cohol i s all owed. Off- shi ft , a worker can choose t o
wor k out i n t he gym, wat ch vi deos, pl ay snooker, read or l earn t o use a personal comput er . Wi t h
fourt een- day st i nt s of t wel ve- hour shi ft s on a remot e pl at for m, an off shor e wor ker r equi res t he abili t y
t o co- operat e i n a group. Women as wel l as men wor k i n t hi s off shore envi ronment .
The Off shore I nst all at i on Manager of a pl at for m i s li ke t he capt ai n of a shi p, maki ng sure t hat all
operat i ons run smoot hly and safet y st andards are met . He co- ordi nat es t he wor k of di ffer ent groups
such as dri lling, product i on and mai nt enance, and communi cat es progr ess or probl ems t o t he beach.
Get t ing Oil and Gas Ashore
Most of fshore oi l and all offshore gas are br ought t o shore by pi peli nes whi ch operat e i n all weat hers.
Pi peline rout es are pl anned t o be as short as possi bl e. Sl opes t hat could put st ress on unsupport ed pi pe
are avoi ded and seabed sedi ment s are mapped t o i dent i fy unst abl e areas and t o see i f it will be
possi bl e t o bury t he pi pe. Pi peline const ruct i on begi ns onshore, as l engt hs of pi pe ar e wat erproof ed
wi t h bi t umen and coat ed wi t h st eel - rei nforced concr et e. Thi s coat ing wei ghs down t he submari ne
pi peli ne even when i t is fi ll ed wi t h gas. The prepared pi pe- l engt hs ar e wel ded t oget her off shor e on a
l aybarge ( F101) . As t he barge wi nches forwar d on i t s anchor lines, t he pi peli ne drops gent ly t o t he
seabed, gui ded by a st inger. The i nsi de of pi peli nes need t o be cl eaned regul arl y t o remove wax
deposi t s and wat er: t o do t hi s a col l ect i ng device known as a pi g i s for ced t hr ough t he pi pe.



Wher e t ankers t ransport oi l from smal l or i sol at ed fi el ds, vari ous oil
st orage syst ems may be used. These may range fr om cyl i ndri cal cells
cont ai ned i n some of t he massi ve concr et e st ruct ures, t o seabed st orage
uni t s such as t hat empl oyed at t he Ki t t i wake fi el d, or int egral st orage
such as t hat cont ai ned i n t he vari ous Fl oat i ng, Pr oduct i on, St orage and
Offl oadi ng vessel s. I n essence t hese FPSOs ar e fl oat ing st orage t anker s,
as well as pr oduct i on and processi ng i nst all at i ons. FPSOs pr ovi de an
i mport ant opt i on for devel opi ng fi el ds whi ch may be r emot e f rom exi st ing i nfrast ruct ure or wher e t he
fi el d recoverabl e r eser ves ar e uncert ai n, for exampl e because of di ffi cul t geol ogi cal condit i ons.
Exampl es of FPSOs are Foi naven and Schi ehalli on in t he At l ant i c Margi n, and t he Anasuri a ( F88, page
49) i n t he Cent ral Nort h Sea.
I n onshor e t ermi nal s, carefull y l andscaped t o mi ni mi se t hei r envi ronment al i mpact , crude oil and gas
undergo furt her pr ocessi ng. Any remai ni ng wat er and gas ar e r emoved from oil whi ch i s st ored at t he
t ermi nal befor e t ransport t o refi neri es. Gas is dri ed and t hen gi ven i t s charact eri st i c smell befor e
ent eri ng t he nat i onal gri d. Duri ng t ransport at i on, great care i s t aken t o avoi d or deal eff ect i vel y wi t h
spill age.
SUSTAI NABI LI TY, SAFETY AND THE ENVI RONMENT
Sust ainabilit y
One of t he key st rat egi c t hemes f or t he off shor e i ndust ry i n recent year s has been t he desi re t o
for mul at e an appropri at e st rat egy regardi ng t he pri nci pl es of sust ai nabilit y. An ini t i al framewor k has
been put i n pl ace. Thi s was an i mport ant mil est one f or t he i ndust ry. Sust ai nabilit y i s an i nt egral part of
t he shared vi si on developed wi t h Government duri ng 1999 from t he wor k of t he Oi l and Gas I ndust ry
Task For ce ( OGI TF) . Formul at i ng a sust ai nabl e devel opment st rat egy ( F104) for t he upst r eam oil and
gas i ndust ry was a nat ural progressi on fr om t hat vi si on. I n so doi ng, t he i ndust ry t ook i t s fi rst st eps t o
defi ne i t s i nt eract i ons wi t h, and responsi bilit i es t o, soci et y at l arge and t o art i cul at e i deas of how t o
appl y sust ainabili t y pri nci pl es t o t he busi ness.
Busi nesses t oday ar e much mor e t han mer e economi c ent i t i es. Successful businesses
generat e j obs, cr eat e new t echnol ogi es, r et urn profi t s t o sharehol der s and cont ri but e
t o t he economi c heal t h of t he nat i on and, or course, t he off shore i ndust ry aspi res t o
t hat success. The off shor e i ndust ry i s part of and deepl y i nt ert wi ned wi t h t he wi der
worl d - a concept whi ch i s becomi ng i ncreasi ngl y cl ear as busi ness becomes mor e
gl obal and t he worl d seems t o grow ever smaller . The success of t he offshor e i ndust ry
depends on wi nni ng and keepi ng t he t rust and good wi ll of many st akehol ders -
empl oyees, suppli ers, sharehol ders, end cust omers, communi t i es and, ul t imat el y,
t hose wi t h whom i t shares t hi s pl anet . Li ke any rel at i onshi p, t hat requi res good
communi cat i on, mut ual underst andi ng, honest endeavour and recogni t i on of shared
benefi t s.
The oi l and gas i ndust ry has br ought many benefi t s t o our li ves. I t s commodi t i es underpi n modern
soci et y, suppl yi ng ener gy t o power i ndust ry and heat homes, fuel for t ransport t o carry goods and
peopl e al l over t he worl d and t he raw mat eri al s fr om whi ch deri ve many i t ems i n everyday use ( F105) .
The of fshor e i ndust ry empl oys hundreds of t housands of peopl e and makes a maj or cont ri but ion t o t he
UK economy. Yet , t he i ndust ry i s ext ract i ve in nat ure, focuses on a fi nit e resour ce and pr oduces a
commodi t y t hat i s i ncreasi ngl y vi ewed as a sour ce of pol lut i on. The i ndust rys responsi bili t y and
chall enge i s t o fi nd a way t o bal ance t hese consi derabl e economi c and soci al benefi t s wi t h good
st ewardshi p of t he worl ds nat ural resources and envi ronment al care. That i s t he essence of t he
i ndust rys cont ri but i on t o sust ai nabl e devel opment .
Devel opment of t he i nit i al st rat egy i nvol ved subj ect i ng t he i ndust ry
t o some cl ose scrut i ny and i dent i fi ed cert ai n chall enges - how, f or
exampl e, t o ali gn sust ainabilit y pri ncipl es wi t h an ext ract i ve i ndust ry;
how t o r espond t o t he publi c percept i on t hat use of our product s i s
envi ronment al l y damagi ng, and how t o make our hi ghl y t echni cal
and fi nanci all y compl ex busi ness accessi bl e t o all our st akehol der s.
The i ndust ry has t ri ed t o address t hese chal l enges and di scovered i n
t he process t hat t here i s much whi ch i s al ready done wel l and will provi de a pl at form for t he
perf ormance i mprovement s whi ch t he indust ry i s commi t t ed t o make. An ext ract i ve i ndust ry can i ndeed
be managed accordi ng t o sust ai nabili t y pri nci pl es. The i ndust ry has al so t aken some fi rst st eps t owards
exami ning t he full li fe cycl e i mpact of t he mat eri al s produced, bot h t o pl ace t hi s i n i t s proper cont ext of
i ndust ri al act i vit y and nat ural processes, and t o i mprove perf ormance.
I n del i veri ng t he st rat egy t he i ndust ry has made commi t ment s t o a range of act i ons whi ch requi re
t arget s t o be set and performance measur es t o be devi sed t o gui de and vali dat e pl anni ng and deli very.
UK Off shore Operat or s Associ at i ons ( UKOOA) di verse membershi p - 30 member compani es wi t h qui t e
di fferent operat i ons, cult ures and, somet i mes, pri ori t i es - j oi ned i n what was a t rul y collaborat i ve
process t o produce one of t he fi rst sect oral sust ai nabili t y st rat egy document s i n t he UK. A br oad
consul t at i on process i nvol ved empl oyees, cont r act or s and suppli ers, Government , NGOs and t he wi der
st akehol der communi t y t o gat her br oad rangi ng vi ews on t he concept of sust ai nabilit y, what i t means
for t he oi l and gas i ndust ry and t he i ndust rys pr oposed act i ons.
Sust ai nabl e devel opment i s not about qui ck fixes, but requi res st ri ki ng t he ri ght bal ance for t he l ong
t erm. Si nce i t s begi nning i n t he 1960s, t he UKs oil and gas i ndust ry has adapt ed t o many changes,
cont i nuall y remodelli ng i t sel f t o respond t o t he chall enges of pri ce vol at ilit y, dynami c gl obal condit i ons,
mat uri t y and changing per cept i ons wi t hi n soci et y. I t i s a l ong t erm i ndust ry wi t h a l ong li fe ahead. The
st rat egy f or uphol di ng sust ai nabilit y will devel op over t i me, all owi ng t he i ndust ry t o map a way f orward
t hat i s vit al , cl ear, account abl e and whi ch st ri ves t o st ri ke t he ri ght balance.
Exampl es of pr ogr ess are many and vari ed. I mproved t echnol ogy means well s can be dr ill ed more
effi ci ent l y and are f ewer i n number; exi st ing i nfrast ruct ure i s used t o bri ng new r eser voi rs i nt o
product i on; drill cut t ings ar e now r out i nel y brought ashore t o be r ecycl ed and re- used f or exampl e as
cat li t t er or pat hway sur faci ng; and t he indust ry has gi ven st r ong support t o a workshop near Aberdeen
wher e wood packi ng mat eri al from of fshor e i s gat hered and r ecycl ed, provi di ng empl oyment for a
number of adul t s wi t h l earning di sabilit i es ( F107) . One l eadi ng operat or, wi t h 19 i nst all at i ons i n t he
proper cont ext of i ndust ri al act i vi t y and nat ural processes, and t o i mprove per formance.
I n del i veri ng t he st rat egy t he i ndust ry has made
commi t ment s t o a r ange of act i ons whi ch require t arget s
t o be set and perf ormance measur es t o be devi sed t o
guide and val i dat e pl anni ng and deli very. UK Off shore
Operat ors Associ at i ons ( UKOOA) di verse member shi p -
30 member compani es wi t h quit e di fferent operat i ons,
cul t ures and, somet i mes, pri ori t i es - j oi ned i n what was a
t rul y coll aborat i ve process t o produce one of t he fi rst sect oral sust ai nabilit y st rat egy document s i n t he
UK. A br oad consul t at ion pr ocess i nvol ved empl oyees, cont ract ors and suppli ers, Government , NGOs
and t he wi der st akehol der communi t y t o gat her br oad rangi ng vi ews on t he concept of sust ai nabilit y,
what i t means for t he oi l and gas indust ry and t he i ndust rys proposed act i ons.
Sust ai nabl e devel opment i s not about qui ck fixes, but requi res st ri ki ng t he ri ght bal ance for t he l ong
t erm. Si nce i t s begi nning i n t he 1960s, t he UKs oil and gas i ndust ry has adapt ed t o many changes,
cont i nuall y remodelli ng i t sel f t o respond t o t he chall enges of pri ce vol at ilit y, dynami c gl obal condit i ons,
mat uri t y and changing per cept i ons wi t hi n soci et y. I t i s a l ong t erm i ndust ry wi t h a l ong li fe ahead. The
st rat egy f or uphol di ng sust ai nabilit y will devel op over t i me, all owi ng t he i ndust ry t o map a way f orward
t hat i s vit al , cl ear, account abl e and whi ch st ri ves t o st ri ke t he ri ght balance.
Exampl es of pr ogr ess ar e many and vari ed. I mproved t echnol ogy means
wel l s can be drill ed more effi ci ent l y and are fewer i n number; exi st i ng
i nfrast ruct ure i s used t o bri ng new r eservoi rs i nt o pr oduct i on; drill
cut t ings are now r out i nel y brought ashor e t o be r ecycl ed and re- used f or
exampl e as cat l i t t er or pat hway sur faci ng; and t he i ndust ry has gi ven
st rong support t o a wor kshop near Aberdeen where wood packi ng
mat eri al from off shore i s gat her ed and recycl ed, provi di ng empl oyment
for a number of adul t s wi t h l earning di sabilit i es ( F107) . One l eading
operat or, wi t h 19 i nst all at i ons i n t he Nort hern and Cent ral Nort h Sea,
now sort s and sends all of i t s domest i c wast e t o an i nci nerat or i n
Lerwi ck, Shet l and. The i nci nerat or, buil t t o t he l at est European
speci fi cat i on, i s operat ed by Shet l and I sl ands Council , and t he energy
generat ed by wast e combust i on i s used t o heat t he l ocal hospit al , t he sport s cent r e and busi ness and
domest i c premi ses.
Nort hern and Cent ral Nort h Sea, now sort s and sends al l of i t s domest i c wast e t o an i ncinerat or i n
Lerwi ck, Shet l and. The i nci nerat or, buil t t o t he l at est Eur opean speci ficat i on, i s operat ed by Shet l and
I sl ands Council , and t he energy generat ed by wast e combust i on i s used t o heat t he l ocal hospi t al , t he
sport s cent r e and busi ness and domest i c pr emi ses.

Safet y

I n t erms of soci al sust ai nabilit y, safet y performance wi t hi n t he i ndust ry
i s one of t he most i mport ant el ement s. Not hi ng has a hi gher pri orit y
t han safet y. Saf et y i s al ways t he pri nci pal concern i n ever y aspect of t he
off shor e oi l and gas indust rys act i vi t i es. Foll owi ng t he Pi per Alpha
di sast er i n 1988, t he i ndust ry qui ckl y i mpl ement ed saf et y
i mprovement s, i ncl uding t he Saf et y Case approach, based on goal -
set t i ng regul at i ons, seeki ng t o ensure such a t ragedy woul d not happen
agai n. Worker s are encouraged t o r eport any pot ent i al safet y pr obl ems.
The dri ve t o achi eve cont i nuous safet y i mprovement s was rei nforced in
1997 when t he i ndust ry l aunched i t s "St ep Change i n Safet y"
programme. Thi s was fol l owed i n 2000 by a Government - sponsor ed
i nit i at i ve "Revi t ali si ng Heal t h and Safet y. " Bot h t hese programmes have
set ambi t i ous t arget s f or furt her enhanci ng indust ry safet y. Maj or advances have been achi eved, but
t here i s st i ll much work t o be done. I n r ecent years i ncreasi ng at t ent i on has been paid t o t he
behavi oural aspect s r el at i ng t o safet y perf ormance. Det ai l ed i nformat i on on safet y perf ormance and
t arget s can be accessed on t he "St ep Change" websi t e at ht t p: / / st ep. st eel - sci . org/

Environment

Envi ronment al management , as part of t he commi t ment t o
sust ai nabili t y, i s t oday a full y i nt egrat ed part of t he oi l business. From
t he earl y expl orat i on act i vi t y, t hrough t he product i on phase unt il t he
fi nal decommi ssi oni ng of t he pr oduct i on facili t i es, t he pot ent i al
envi ronment al i mpact s of t hese operat i ons ar e assessed. At each st age
of act i vit y, envi ronment al cont rol s ar e put i n pl ace t o meet or exceed
t he l egal requi rement s and t o mi ni mi se t he i mpact on t he envi ronment .
UKOOA member compani es have adopt ed gui deli nes on Envi ronment al
Management Syst ems, Audi t i ng and Trai ning procedur es t o provi de a
framework for r esponsi bl e conduct of busi ness.
Envi ronment al management as a process exami nes t he envi ronment al
fact ors and t he act i vi t i es or processes t hat i ndust ry uses. These
assessment s ai m t o ident i fy t he envi ronment al sensi t i vi t i es and t o
devel op or ut ili se t echni ques, procedures and t echnol ogi es t o mi nimi se
t he i mpact s on t he envi ronment s. These measur es range f rom fi ri ng
sei smi c survey ai rguns soft l y t o al ert nearby mammal s t o t he i mpending
survey, t o devel opi ng and i mpl ement ing new t echnol ogy t o r educe oi l
i nput from produced wat er and reduce t he use of oi l based muds. Oil
does bi odegrade i n t he nat ural envi ronment , but may t ake some t ime.
Because each phase of t he expl orat i on and product i on act i vit y will
produce di ffer ent hazar ds and ri sks t o t he envi ronment , so t hi s process
must be r epeat ed t hroughout t he fi el d li fecycl e, r egul arl y revi ewi ng t he
si t uat i on and revi si ng or i mpl ement ing appropri at e envi ronment al prot ect i on st rat egi es. Thi s process
i nvol ves f requent consult at i on wi t h Government , conservat i on agenci es and t he publi c t o ensur e
envi ronment al concerns ar e i dent i fi ed and cont rol s est abli shed, part i cul arl y i n nearshor e or
envi ronment al l y sensi t i ve areas.
A key aspect of envi ronment al management is knowl edge of t he envi ronment l ocal t o t he i ndust ry
act i vi t y. UKOOA member s have been act i ve i n fi nanci all y support i ng resear ch and st udi es t o i ncrease
knowl edge of t he mari ne envi ronment ar ound Bri t ai n where oil and gas are found or bei ng explor ed f or .
I n part i cul ar, UKOOA members assi st ed wi t h t he publi cat i on of t he Joi nt Nat ure Conser vat i on
Commi t t ees ( JNCC) "Coast al Di rect or y" seri es, whi ch i dent i fi es envi ronment al i nformat i on on t he UK
coast al envi ronment . The JNCC Seabi rds at Sea t eam has al so been l ocall y support ed by UKOOA
member compani es and Government t o provi de comprehensi ve dat a on t he di st ri but i on of seabi rds
whi ch may be i mpact ed by oi l spill s.
I n r ecent year s t he i ndust ry has been payi ng increasi ng at t ent i on t o
wat er s nort h- west of t he Uni t ed Ki ngdom, an area know as t he At l ant ic
Margi n ( F114) . Thi s i ncludes wat er s t o t he west of Orkney and Shet l and,
as wel l as t he area around t he Faeroe I sl ands. Thi s act i vi t y has
prompt ed furt her co- operat i on among t he i ndust ry and st akehol ders t o
ensur e t he best possi bl e envi ronment al management of t he ar ea. For
exampl e, an At l ant i c Front i er Envi ronment al Net work ( AFEN) has been
est abl i shed t o hel p t he i ndust ry under st and t he key sensi t i vi t i es and
concerns - and devel op appropri at e prot ect i on measur es.
UKOOA has publi shed "Envi ronment al Gui deli nes" f or
expl orat i on operat i ons in nearshor e and envi ronment all y
sensi t i ve areas. These descri be good i ndust ry pract i ce for
car ryi ng out expl orat i on operat i ons i n a way in whi ch will
mi ni mi se pot ent i al damage t o t he envi ronment .
The of fshor e i ndust rys envi ronment al record i s good and
i t i s det ermi ned t o keep i t t hat way, by cont i nui ng t o
i nvest consi derabl e resources i n devel opi ng new
t echnol ogy, new oper at i onal and management syst ems,
wor ki ng pract i ces and increasi ng envi ronment al
awar eness amongst t he wor kf or ce. Al l of t he Nort h Sea
operat i ng compani es have envi ronment al depart ment s
t hat revi ew and comment on all t he compani es act i vi t i es,
from sei smi c surveys t o pr oduct i on procedures and
ensur e t hat t he company i s fol l owi ng t he best
envi ronment al pract i ce. These depart ment s may al so
perf orm audi t s t o see t hat procedur es ar e i mproved. I n
new ar eas t o be l i censed for oi l or gas expl orat i on, an
envi ronment al report on each area i s aut omat i call y submi t t ed wi t h t he companys appli cat i on and
proposed work programme. Such report s ar e avail abl e t o any i nt erest ed
st akehol der.
Work i s cont i nui ng on a l ong- t erm research proj ect whi ch began in 1998,
st udyi ng t he hi st ori cal l egacy of accumul at ed dri ll cut t ings ( F115)
beneat h off shor e i nst allat i ons in t he Nort h Sea. These cut t i ngs are r ock
fragment s pr oduced duri ng drilling operat i ons, and have accumul at ed in
pil es beneat h some pl at for ms, i n areas of t he Nort h Sea wher e cur r ent s
and t i des are not st rong enough t o di sperse t hem. The cut t i ngs piles
cont ai n t races of hydrocarbons, produced t hrough cont ami nat i on of t he
fragment s by dri lli ng mud. I n recent year s maj or advances have been
made i n t he t ypes of dri lling mud used t o hel p r educe pot ent ial
cont ami nat i on. However, exi st i ng pil es of cont ami nat ed cut t i ngs remain
i n pl ace. Opt i ons bei ng st udi ed include l eavi ng t he pil es undi st urbed,
compl et e removal or some f or m of i n si t u t reat ment .
Anot her maj or focus i nvol ves decommi ssi oni ng. Today t here are more
t han 6500 offshor e oil and gas product i on inst all at i ons worl d wi de,
l ocat ed on t he cont i nent al shel ves of some 53 count ri es. Mor e t han
4, 000 ar e si t uat ed i n t he US Gul f of Mexi co, some 950 i n Asi a, some 700
i n t he Mi ddl e East and some 600 i n t he Nort h Sea and Nort h East
At l ant i c. Ther e ar e some 400 st ruct ures ext ract ing oil and gas from t he
UKs Cont i nent al Shel f ( UKCS) . These i ncl ude subsea equi pment fi xed t o
t he ocean fl oor as well as pl at forms rangi ng from t he smal l er st ruct ur es
i n t he sout hern and cent ral Nort h Sea t o t he enormous i nst allat i ons in
t he nort hern Nort h Sea built t o wi t hst and very harsh weat her condi t i ons
i n deep wat ers. Many of t he st ruct ur es wer e bui l t i n t he 1970s and wer e
hail ed as t echnol ogi cal feat s when t hey wer e i nst all ed. The i ndust ry i s
now faced wi t h t he equall y chall enging t ask of decommi ssi oni ng t hem.
A st ri ct l egal framework of nat i onal , regi onal and i nt ernat i onal regul at i ons govern how operat or s
decommi ssi on di sused off shor e faci li t i es. Under cur rent r egul at ory r equi rement s for t he Nort h East
At l ant i c ( whi ch i ncludes t he Nort h Sea) some 80% of st ruct ur es wi ll be compl et el y r emoved fr om t hei r
curr ent mari ne si t es and brought t o shore for reuse or r ecycl ing ( F116) . The rest , whi ch compri se t he
very l arge and heavy st eel or concret e i nst all at i ons, will be l ooked at on an i ndi vi dual basi s t o assess
whet her i t i s t echni cally f easi bl e and safe t o remove t he st ruct ures, beari ng i n mi nd t hat t her e i s a
general presumpt i on for t ot al removal of all st ruct ures. I f t hey ar e t oo di ffi cul t or danger ous t o be
moved, an except i onal case for "der ogat i on" ( based on sound sci ent ifi c and t echnol ogi cal reasoni ng)
can be made t o OSPAR cont ract i ng part i es. The evi dence wi ll t hen be revi ewed and a r ecommendat i on
made t o t he count ry appl yi ng for der ogat i on. However, t he fi nal deci si on t o grant t he der ogat i on
remai ns wi t h t he nat i onal government i n whose t er ri t ori al wat ers t he st ruct ur e i s si t uat ed.

Organising Offshore Development

I n 1964, Bri t ai n enact ed t he Cont i nent al Shel f Act t o ext end sover ei gnt y
off shor e, dr ew up t he Pet r ol eum Pr oduct i on Regul at i ons t o pr ovi de a
syst em f or li censi ng and cont r ol and i ssued t he f i rst round Li censes.
For l i censi ng purpose, t he Uni t ed Ki ngdom cont i nent al shel f i s di ved int o
quadrant s, t he areas of one degree l at i t ude by one degree l ongit ude.
Each quadrant i s furt her di vi ded i nt o t hi rt y bl ocks of appr oxi mat el y 250
square km. Compani es ar e i nvi t ed t o appl y for t he ri ght t o expl or e
bl ocks sel ect ed by t he Depart ment of Trade and I ndust r y i n li censing
rounds hel d ever y t wo years. Li censes ar e awarded t o Bri t i sh regi st ered
compani es j udged t o have good operat i onal records, wel l - prepared
expl orat i on and envi ronment al pl ans, and fi nanci al soundness.
The offshor e pet r ol eum i ndust ry has generat ed huge t ax r evenues and
cr eat ed many j obs i n indust ri es whi ch suppl y servi ces and equi pment .
Tot al capi t al i nvest ment in expl ori ng and devel opi ng t he Nort h Sea has
reached some 190 billi on. Government t ax r evenues over t he same
peri od are some 170 billi on. Of t he t ot al pri ce of a barr el of oil , 71%
pays for pr oduct i on cost s ( expl orat i on, devel opment and operat i ng) ,
some 16% goes t o t ax, l eaving 13% f or t he pr oducer .
The operat i ng compani es have formed t he UK Offshore Operat ors
Associ at i on ( UKOOA) t o provi de a forum t o deal wit h common i nt erest s
and probl ems, and t o r epr esent t he operat ors t o t he Government and
ot her i nt erest ed groups.
The Fut ure

Nort h Sea Gas was fi rst di scovered i n t he sout hern Nort h Sea i n
1965 and brought ashor e i n 1967. The gi ant Fort i es Fi el d was
di scovered i n 1970 and t he fi rst oil ( from t he Argyl l Fi el d) came
ashor e i n 1975. All t he l argest and most easil y devel oped oil
fi el ds have been di scover ed and are now past t hei r product i on
peak. Oi l product i on general l y has peaked and i s now decl i ning
graduall y, t hough gas product i on i s st ill ri si ng. Bot h will l ast well
i nt o t he cur rent cent ury. Furt her expl orat i on will cont inue,
searchi ng i n part i cul ar for subt l e t raps. Hi gh oil pri ces
encourage furt her i nvest ment in new t echnol ogy whi ch can be of
assi st ance i n expl orat i on, apprai sal , devel opment and product i on. Even very mat ur e devel opment s can
be gi ven a new l ease of li fe t hrough enhanced recovery t echni ques such as i nj ect i on st eam, surfact ant
chemi cal s, mi sci bl e gases and pol ymers t o l ower t he vi scosi t y of t he oi l . However, t he oil pri ce i s
not ori ousl y vol at il e, and l ong- t erm pl ans by compani es must t ake account of t hat fact by maki ng sure
pl anned proj ect s are economi call y robust at a rel at i vel y l ow oil pri ce l evel . There wi ll be increasi ng
devel opment of smal l sat el li t e fi el ds linked by subsea t i ebacks t o an exi st i ng cent ral pl at form.
Est i mat ing fut ure product i on i s a hazardous t ask. Ever y l ong t erm f or ecast t o dat e has been wr ong
( and all i n a pessi mi st i c di rect i on) .
Bri t ai ns off shore oi l and gas i ndust ry has devel oped t o t he poi nt
wher e an i ncreasi ng number of i nst allat i ons will be
decommi ssi oned because t hey have come t o t he end of t hei r
economi c li ves. The i ndust ry r emai ns commi t t ed t o doi ng all t hat
i s reasonabl e pract i cabl e t o r educe t he safet y ri sk and ri sk of
damage t o t he envi ronment when decommi ssi oni ng such
i nst all at i ons, t he maj orit y of whi ch will be removed ent i rel y. To
t hi s end i t i s devel opi ng effi ci ent decommi ssi oni ng pl ans for
t hose i nst all at i ons, which are based upon achi evi ng t he ri ght
bal ance bet ween saf et y, pr ot ect i on of t he envi ronment and cost . A number of rel at i vel y small
i nst all at i ons have been successfull y decommi ssi oned al ready. At t he same t i me, t he i ndust ry i s maki ng
st renuous eff ort s t o sust ai n i t s huge cont ri but i on t o Bri t ai ns economy and j obs as i t moves i nt o t he
21st cent ury.
Fact s, Figures and Explanat ions
How Oil and Gas were Formed


Oil has formed t hroughout much of t he Eart hs hi st ory, i n fact , oil i s bei ng formed i n some part s of t he
Eart h t oday. Al most al l oil and gas comes f r om t i ny decayed pl ant s, al gae, and bact eri a. At cert ain
t i mes i n t he Eart hs hi st ory condi t i ons for oi l format i on have been part i cul arl y favourabl e. Oil fr om t he
Nort h Sea i s mai nl y found i n rocks t hat formed duri ng t he Jurassi c peri od - about 150 milli on years
ago, l ong bef ore peopl e appear ed on Eart h.
Duri ng t hi s t i me t he seas and swampy areas were ri ch i n mi croscopi c pl ant s and ani mal s.
When t hese di ed t hey sl owl y sank t o t he bot t om formi ng t hi ck l ayers of organi c mat eri al . This i n t urn
became covered i n l ayers of mud t hat t rapped t he organi c mat eri al .
Oil and gas wer e formed by t he anaer obic decay of organic mat erial in condit ions of
incr eased t emper at ur e and pr essur e.
The l ayers of mud pr event ed ai r from reachi ng t he organi c mat eri al . Wi t hout ai r, t he organi c mat eri al
coul dnt rot i n t he same way as organi c mat er i al rot s away i n a compost heap. As t he l ayers of mud
grew i n t hi ckness, t hey pushed down on t he organi c mat eri al wi t h i ncreasi ng pressure. The
t emperat ur e of t he organi c mat eri al was al so i ncreased as i t was heat ed by ot her pr ocesses goi ng on
i nsi de t he Eart h.
Ver y sl owl y, i ncreasi ng t emperat ur e, pr essure and anaerobi c bact eri a - mi cro- organi sms t hat can li ve
wi t hout oxygen - st art ed act i ng on t he organi c mat eri al . As t hi s happened t he mat eri al was sl owl y
cooked and al t ered, li ke food i n a pressur e cooker. I n t hi s was t he energy fi rst gi ven t o t he pl ant s by
t he sun i s t ransf er r ed and t he organi c mat t er i s changed i nt o crude oil and gas.
Oil forms f ir st , t hen as t he t emperat ure and pressure increase at great er dept h gas begins t o
form.
Temperat ur es wi t hi n t he Eart hs crust i ncr ease wi t h dept h so t hat t he sedi ment s, and any pl ant
mat eri al s t hey cont ai n, warm up as t hey become buri ed under mor e sedi ment . I ncr easi ng heat and
pressur e fi rst cause t he buri ed algae, bact eri a, spor es and cut i cl es ( l eaf ski n) t o j oi n t hei r wax, fat and
oil t o form dark specks call ed kerogen.
The cel l ul ose and woody part of pl ant s are convert ed t o coal and woody kerogen. Rocks cont aini ng
suffi ci ent organi c subst ances t o generat e oi l and gas i n t hi s way ar e known as source rocks. When t he
sour ce r ock st art s t o generat e oi l or gas i t i s said t o be mat ur e.
As t he source rock get s hot t er, chai ns of hydr ocarbon chemi cal s use t hi s heat energy t o break away
from t he kerogen t o f orm waxy and vi scous heavy oi l . At great er dept h, t he t emperat ure ri ses. At
hi gher t emper at ures t he chai ns of hydr ocarbons become short er and break away t o gi ve l i ght oil and
gas. Most Nort h Sea Oi l i s t he val uabl e li ght oil . Gas fr om t he Sout hern Nort h Sea i s met hane.
Oil and gas are called hydrocarbons because t hey most ly cont ain molecules of t he element s
hydrogen and carbon.



Hist or y Chart
Crude oil i s a compl ex mi xt ure of hydr ocarbons wi t h small amount s of ot her chemi cal compounds t hat
cont ai n sulphur, ni t rogen and oxygen.
Traces of ot her el ement s, such as sul phur and ni t rogen, wer e al so present i n t he decayi ng organi c
mat eri al , gi ving ri se t o small quant i t i es of ot her compounds i n crude oi l .
Hydr ocarbon mol ecul es come i n a vari et y of shapes and si zes, ( st rai ght - chai n, branched chain or
cycl i c) , t hi s i s one of t he t hi ngs t hat makes t hem so val uabl e because i t all ows t hem t o be used i n so
many di ffer ent ways.
Oil and gas form as t he result of a pr ecise sequence of environment al condit ions:
The presence of organi c mat eri al
Organi c r emai ns bei ng t rapped and preserved i n sedi ment
The mat eri al i s buri ed deepl y and t hen sl owl y "cooked" by i ncreased t emperat ur e and pressure.


Fact s, Figures and Explanat ions
Oil and Gas on t he Move
Once i t has formed, oil and gas moves away ( mi grat es) from t he sour ce r ock. Thi s movement happens
for t wo reasons. Fi rst t he oi l and gas expand t o t ake up more r oom t han t he ori gi nal organic mat t er
( al gae, bact eri al and l eaf ski ns) t her ef or e t hei r pressure on t he r ock increases and t hey t r y t o escape.
Second, bei ng l ess dense t han t he surroundi ng rock and wat er, t hey t end t o ri se upwards. Thi s
mi grat i on i s a sl ow process. I t t akes mi lli ons of years for t he oi l and gas t o ri se a f ew ki l omet res.
What happens t o t he migrat ing oil and gas?
I f t her e i s no seal above t he rock sour ce, oi l and gas sl owl y ri se and escape at t he sur face. Thi s does
happen on occasi ons but , when i t does, no oil and gas deposi t s can buil d up. However because oil and
gas format i on t akes such a l ong t i me i t oft en spans milli ons of year s and during t hi s ext ended peri od of
t i me a range of di ff er ent envi ronment al condi t i ons can appl y.
For exampl e, a desert coul d devel op whose sands coul d compact t o for m a l ayer of sandst one over t he
sour ce rock bef or e any or al l of t he oil and gas have escaped. I n t hi s case, t he mi grat i ng oil and gas
woul d ri se up i nt o t he sandst one, whi ch woul d act as r eser voi r r ock.
Sandst one can st or e oil and gas because i t i s bot h por ous and permeabl e.
Porous means t hat liqui ds and gas can be hel d and st ored. The por es i n rock ar e t he spaces t hat occur
bet ween t he i ndi vi dual rock part i cl es. These spaces ar e creat ed because t he r ock part i cl es ar e
i rregul arl y shaped and so dont fi t t oget her exact l y or cl osel y t oget her. Thi s por ous r ock i s call ed t he
reservoir.
Permeable means t hat li quid can fl ow t hrough. A permeabl e rock has por es t hat are connect ed and so
all ows oi l and gas t o fl ow t hrough.
I n swampy ar eas and in wat er, t he muddy sedi ment t hat was si nki ng at t he same t i me as t he organi c
mat eri al t hat went on t o become oil , formed r ocks known as sediment ar y rocks. Some sedi ment ary
rocks ar e por ous and ot hers ar e i mpermeabl e.
Lot s of peopl e t hi nk t hat crude oi l i s li ke a l ake beneat h t he eart hs surface but act uall y i t s all hel d i n
t he por es of porous r ock rat her l i ke wat er i s hel d i n a sponge. Once f ormed, crude oi l and gas sl owl y
ri se upwards, seepi ng int o t he t i ny pores i n porous r ock. Event ual l y t he oi l and gas reaches a l ayer of
i mpermeabl e r ock and i s t rapped.
Unl ess an i mpermeabl e rock st ops i t s pr ogr ess, oi l and gas will event uall y mi grat e from por ous r ock
t hrough permeabl e rock t o t he surface. So oi l and gas deposi t s will only remai n in t he reservoi r rock i f
anot her l ayer f orms on t op whi ch i s i mpermeabl e i . e. does not al l ow t he l i qui ds or gases t o pass
t hrough or escape. Thi s i mpermeabl e l ayer i s call ed a seal.
So al t hough t here ar e many pl aces i n t he worl d wher e crude oi l seeps t o t he surface i t i s more common
t o fi nd oil - cont aini ng rocks deep bel ow t he l and or seabed i n rock st ruct ures cal l ed t raps.



How oil and gas were t rapped by sediment ary rocks
Just as oil has formed t hroughout t he Eart hs hi st ory, so have rocks. The movement s of rocks on a
massi ve scal e over mi llions of years has resul t ed i n t he format i on of di fferent t ypes of r ock st ruct ures.
A t rap can occur wher e r ocks have been pushed or f ol ded by t he powerful forces wi t hi n t he Eart hs
crust . When t hi s happens- t hi s i s known as an ant i cline t rap. The i mpermeabl e rock t raps t he crude oil
prevent i ng i t from fl owing away - l i ke an upt urned bat ht ub.
A fault t r ap i s cr eat ed when rocks sl i de past each ot her - an i mper meabl e r ock t hen f orms a sort of
dam t rappi ng t he fl ow of t he movi ng oil .
Salt domes ar e f ormed by a combi nat i on of rock movement s f or ci ng a l ayer of r ock sal t up t hrough
t he l ayer s of rock above. I f one of t hese l ayer s of rock i s por ous, oi l and gas may become t r apped by
t he sal t dome whi ch for ms an i mpermeabl e pl ug.



Traps


Fact s, Figures and Explanat ions
The Search for Oil and Gas


The format i on and accumul at i on of crude oi l and gas has occur red at di ffer ent t i mes t hroughout t he
hi st ory of t he Eart h, so how do we know wher e t o fi nd oil t oday?
I n t he earl y days of commer ci al oil expl orat i on, ar ound 150 year s ago, prospect ors dri ll ed around t he
areas wher e oi l seeped t o t he surface, t ryi ng t o fi nd t he undergr ound source of t he oil . They al so dri ll ed
i nt o domed st ruct ur es hoping t o fi nd oil t raps. Somet i mes t hey wer e l ucky but oft en t hey found
not hi ng.
The fi rst wel l t o be drilled speci fi call y t o l ocat e oil was in Tit usvill e, Pennsyl vani a i n 1859. Si nce t hen an
est i mat ed t wo milli on well s have been sunk i n t he sear ch f or oi l .
Today, drilli ng for oil is an ext remel y expensi ve busi ness and has t o be approached sci ent i fi call y.
Through sci ence we have di scover ed how oi l and gas were formed, but how do we know wher e t o st art
l ooki ng for t he part i cul ar r ock f or mat i ons t hat are most li kel y t o cont ai n t hese pr eci ous hydrocarbons?
How does t he search begin?
Rock st ruct ur es t hat cont ain oil or gas are hi dden fr om vi ew by t he sea or ot her r ock l ayer s but we
cant j ust go ar ound dri lling l ot s of hol es and hopi ng t o st ri ke l ucky. We have t o be mor e pr eci se and
st art by doi ng a full survey of t he area. Thi s i s wher e geol ogi st s and geophysi ci st s, t he sci ent i st s who
st udy r ocks and t hei r f ormat i ons, ar e r eall y valuabl e.
A geologist l ooks at t he makeup of r ocks - where t hey ar e and t he format i ons t hey make. A
geophysicist , as t he name i mpli es, uses t he physi cal charact eri st i cs of r ocks - t hei r magnet i c and
gravi t at i onal propert i es, and very i mport ant l y, how sound waves t ravel t hrough di ffer ent ki nds of r ocks
- t o hel p underst and t he st ruct ur es bel ow t he Eart hs surface.
I dent ifying t he Rocks
Ther e ar e cl ear di ffer ences bet ween i gneous rocks, whi ch wer e formed when hot , mol t en magma from
t he Eart hs i nt eri or cool ed and sol i di fi ed and sedi ment ary rocks. Sedi ment ary rocks wer e formed when
small worn part i cl es of sedi ment were compressed t oget her - li ke t he sandst one descri bed earlier or t he
muddy sedi ment t hat sank t o t he bot t om of t he sea at t he same t ime as t he organi c mat eri al whi ch
went on t o f orm oi l and gas.



Search Hist ory
Gravit y and magnet ic surveys
We know t hat soft , sedi ment ary rocks t hat may cont ai n oil or gas are l ess dense t han t he heavy
i gneous rocks whi ch cont ain a l ot of magnet i c mi neral s. These di ffer ences can be det ect ed by remot e
sensi ng surveys car ri ed out f r om shi ps, t hat make no di rect cont act wi t h t he r ock st ruct ur es beneat h
t he sea.
Aeri al phot ography can gi ve useful basi c infor mat i on. Ai rcraft can al so be used t o measur e accurat el y
t he gravi t at i onal pull of t he Eart h over an area. Small di fferences i n t he gravi t at i onal pull are caused by
vari at i ons in t he densi t y of t he underl ying rocks. Because some r ocks are more magnet i c t han ot hers,
we can al so measur e vari at i ons i n t he st rengt h of t he Eart hs magnet i c fi el d.
So di ffer ent surveyi ng t echni ques can be used t o l ocat e t he part i cul ar rock f ormat i ons t hat might
cont ai n t rapped oil . Geol ogi st s and geophysi ci st s can buil d up a det ail ed pi ct ure of t he r ock st r uct ures,
even t hough t hese ar e oft en many hundreds of met res beneat h t he Eart hs surface usi ng t he resul t s
from t hese t echni ques.


General survey t echni ques cover l arge areas quit e qui ckl y and easi l y and hel p t o build a broad pi ct ure
of t he underl yi ng rock st ruct ur es. I f t he result s are encouragi ng, and a promi sing area l ocat ed, a
second st age of expl orat i ons i s undert aken and a more det ai l ed sei smi c survey i s car ri ed out .
Seismic survey
A seismic sur vey i nvolves fi ri ng pul ses of sound energy down t hr ough t he l ayer s of rock beneat h t he
Eart h and recordi ng t he energy t hat i s bounced back by t he rock l ayer s bel ow t he surface. The way i n
whi ch t he sound energy t ravel s back depends on t he ki nds of rocks and t he st ruct ur es t hey f or m.
I t s a bi t li ke bounci ng a bal l . As an experi ment t ry bounci ng a t enni s ball on di fferent surf aces.
( Preferabl y not gl ass wi ndows! ) You will get a di fferent bounce on t he pl ayground, grass, sand or
agai nst a sl opi ng surface.
Seismic surveys at sea
I n t he Uni t ed Ki ngdom most of t he oi l and gas t hat i s produced has been di scovered under t he sea -
off shor e. To do a sei smic sur vey at sea, t he sur vey shi p fi res bl ast s of compressed ai r i nt o t he wat er. A
l ong cabl e wi t h recei ver s call ed hydrophones, whi ch are sensi t i ve li st eni ng devi ces, l i ke mi crophones,
i s t owed behi nd t he ship t o det ect t he echoes f rom t he l ayer s of r ocks beneat h t he seabed.
A comput er i s used t o measur e and record t he echoes, or pul ses, t hat are r efl ect ed back t o t he surface.
The geophysi ci st s t hen have t o i nt erpret t he dat a, whi ch i s di spl ayed as a seri es of wavy li nes, t o buil d
up a det ail ed pi ct ure of t he r ock f ormat i ons. Seismic dat a can now be shown as a t hree di mensi onal
pi ct ure usi ng t he l at est comput er t echnol ogy.



Surveying
The import ance of environment al assessment
Bef or e a sei smi c survey at sea i s car ri ed out several t hi ngs have t o be consi der ed. One of t hese i s t he
eff ect on bi rds, fi sh, and mammal s - li ke whal es or dol phins, pl ant li fe, and ot her cr eat ur es t hat li ve on
t he seabed.
A full envi ronment al assessment i s t heref or e car ri ed out bef or e any sei smi c survey i s st ar t ed. Thi s
i nvol ves maki ng a det ail ed st udy of t he si t e t o see, for exampl e, whet her whal es mi grat e t hr ough t he
area and i f so, at what t i me of year. We al so need t o know t he feedi ng habi t s of l ocal sea bi rds and
make a r ecord of t he t ypes of shel l fi sh t hat li ve on t he seabed. I n fact everyt hi ng t hat coul d possi bl y be
affect ed by our act i vi t ies i s exami ned. Marine biologist s do t hi s sci ent i fi c work. Ot her gr oups and
organi zat i ons ar e al so consul t ed and i nvol ved, for exampl e l ocal fi shermen and t he Royal Soci et y for
t he Pr ot ect i on of Bi rds ( RSPB) . At t he end of t hi s pr ocess an environment al report i s pr oduced.
How t he environment al report can affect explorat ion
The envi ronment al report shows how damage t o a si t e will be avoi ded. Thi s mi ght mean t hat work i s
not carri ed out duri ng: cert ai n hours of t he day when seabi rds are f eedi ng; cert ai n mont hs of t he year
because fi shermen are cat chi ng l obst ers; or at cert ai n breedi ng or mi grat i ng seasons. Part i cul ar areas
may be avoi ded ent i rel y because t her e i s some rar e pl ant or ani mal li fe on t he seabed.

Fact s, Figures and Explanat ion
Drilling for Oil
Once t he envi ronment al and sei smi c surveys are compl et ed, and i f t he r esul t s l ook good drilli ng an
expl orat ory wel l i s consi der ed. Even at t hi s st age, i t remai ns an uncert ai n business wi t h no guarant ees.
Ther e i s st i ll a hi gh ri sk t hat not hi ng at all will be f ound, or t hat t he oi l will be i n such small quant i t i es
t hat i t woul d not be wort hwhil e ext ract i ng i t . I n t he Nort h Sea onl y about 1 i n 8 expl orat i on wel l s fi nd
quant i t i es of oi l and gas t hat are economi c t o devel op.


Drilling explorat ory wells
Three di ffer ent ways of drilli ng expl orat ory wel ls:
Jack- up unit
Thi s i s a barge wi t h l egs t hat can be r ai sed and l ower ed. I t i s usuall y t owed i nt o posi t i on, i t s l egs
l ower ed and t hen once t hey ar e si t t i ng on t he seabed, t he barge i s raised out of t he wat er cr eat i ng a
st abl e drilli ng pl at form. Jack- up uni t s are usual ly used i n up t o 100 met res of wat er .
Semi- submer sible dr illing rig
These usual l y have an engi ne so t hey dont need t o be t owed. The wor ki ng pl at form i s support ed on
vert i cal columns t hat are at t ached t o submer ged pont oons. Once i n posi t i on t he pont oons can be
fl ooded wi t h wat er t o l ower t he whol e uni t furt her i nt o t he wat er. The l ower t he pont oons are beneat h
t he wat er, t he l ess l i kely t hey are t o be affect ed by wave act i on. Thi s makes t hem st abl e i n rough seas
and i n dept hs of 300 met r es or mor e.
Drillships
These l ook mor e l i ke a convent i onal shi p and can be easi l y moved bet ween l ocat i ons. The l at est drill
shi ps can drill i n wat er dept hs of 1500 met r es or more, but t hey can be unst abl e i n rough seas.





Drilling



On Boar d
Spudding t he well
The fi rst st ep i s t o dri ll a 90cm hol e and t hen put a wi de pi pe i nt o t he seabed t o gui de t he dri ll and t he
drilli ng fl uid. As each sect i on of t he wel l i s compl et ed i t i s li ned wi t h a heavy st eel pi pe casing t hat i s
cement ed i n pl ace t o pr event i t cavi ng i n. Thi s process i s cal l ed "spudding t he well".
The derrick
The der ri ck i s t he t all st ruct ur e t hat support s all t he drilling operat ions. I t i s desi gned t o haul t he
drill st ri ng - l engt hs of drill pi pe wit h t he drill bi t on t he end - i n and out of t he hol e. Sect i ons of drill pi pe
or drill st ri ng are added as t he hol e get s deeper . Each pi ece of dri ll st ri ng i s t ypi call y 10 met res l ong,
about t he l engt h of a bus whi ch expl ai ns why t he der ri ck, whi ch needs t o accommodat e 3 l engt hs of
drill pi pe, has t o be so t all . The drill st ri ng can wei gh several hundred t onnes, so a powerful mot or i s
needed t o wi nch i t up and down.
The drill bit
The dri ll bit i s at t ached t o heavy dri ll coll ars t hat put wei ght ont o t he bi t . The drill bit i s rot at ed ei t her
by t urning t he whol e drill st ri ng or by a t urbi ne down t he hol e t hat i s dri ven by drill flui d. Depending on
how hard t he rock i s, t he dri lling rat e can be l ess t han 30 cent i met res an hour or as much as 60 met r es
an hour i n rel at i vel y sof t rock.
The drill bi t needs changi ng every f ew days, or maybe every f ew hour s, dependi ng on t he har dness of
t he r ock. When t he dri ll bi t has t o be changed, t he whol e dri ll st ring i s pull ed back up, uncoupl ed in
sect i ons, st acked up, t he dri ll bi t changed and t he whol e process st art s agai n. Thi s i s known as a round
t ri p and can t ake 10 hours or more.
Use of mud
Dri lling flui d, whi ch i s commonl y known as mud, i s cont i nuousl y pumped at hi gh pressure down t o t he
drill bi t t o l ubri cat e i t and keep i t cool . The mud al so fl ushes out t he rock cut t i ngs and bri ngs t hem back
t o t he surface. Geosci ent i st s are abl e t o i nspect and anal yze t hese t ea l eaf si zed sampl es and gain
mor e i nformat i on about t he rock st ruct ur es and t he presence of hydr ocarbons. The per son who does
t hi s i s known as a mudlogger.
Anot her i mport ant consi derat i on i s t hat t he for ce and wei ght of t he mud t hat i s pumped down t he
drill st ri ng i nt o t he well , bal ances t he pressur e of t he crude oi l and gas in t he surroundi ng rocks and so
si gni fi cant l y reduces t he ri sk of a bl ow out .
Cont rolling t he well
Because t he oi l and gas, deep bel ow t he Eart hs surface ar e at hi gh pressur e gr eat car e has t o be t aken
t o cont r ol t he pressur e. I n ci nema fil ms t hey oft en show what i s called a bl ow out . Thi s can occur
when a dri ll ent ers a r eservoi r and t he pressur e causes t he oi l and gas come spurt i ng out of t he wel l .
The r esul t i s pot ent i all y ver y dangerous. Al t hough bl ow out s ar e very unusual , all well s are f i t t ed wi t h
an emergency val ve desi gned t o prevent t hi s fr om happeni ng.
Core samples
I f t he geol ogi st s fi nd somet hi ng part i cul arl y int er est i ng t hey can ask f or a core sampl e. A holl ow drill ,
call ed a cor e bar rel , i s at t ached t o t he dri ll st ri ng and as it goes down a core of r ock forms i nsi de - a bit
li ke usi ng a gi ant appl e corer! Thi s core sample gi ves a cont i nuous record of t he di fferent l ayers of
rock and t heref ore more det ai l ed i nformat i on t han t he rock cut t i ngs. Col l ect ing a cor e sampl e i s
expensi ve and t i me consumi ng because i t i nvolves a compl et e r ound t ri p.
Logging
Bef or e a wel l i s fi nall y capped, vi t al i nformat i on i s gat hered by l oweri ng measuri ng devi ces cont ai ned i n
what as known as a sonde down t he hol e on a wi reli ne. As t he l i ne i s pull ed back up t he hol e, t he
sonde t ransmi t s i nformat i on t o a comput er on t he surface about t he por osi t y and ot her quali t ies of t he
rock i t i s cut t ing t hrough. Thi s i nformat i on provi des a survey of t he wel l and gi ves more i nformat i on
about t he pr esence of hydrocarbons i n t he por es. Thi s t echni que i s called logging.
Field Appraisal
I f an expl orat or y wel l shows t hat hydrocarbons are pr esent , mor e sei smi c dat a i s gat hered and t hen a
number of apprai sal well s are drill ed and mor e dat a i s col l ect ed. From t hi s dat a i t i s possi bl e t o
est i mat e how much oil and gas t he fi el d cont ains, how di ffi cul t i t will be t o ext ract and what per cent age
of t he oi l and gas can be ext ract ed.
Unfort unat el y, i t s not possi bl e t o get every l ast drop of oil out of a reser voi r - in t he Nort h Sea, f or
exampl e, operat ors expect t o r ecover about 40 - 50% of t he t ot al reser voi r. Thi s fi gure may seem qui t e
l ow, but remember t her e i snt a l ake of oi l and gas. I nst ead i t i s t rapped i n t he por es of t he r eser voi r
rock and you can appreci at e t hat it i snt possi ble t o get every l ast drop out . Think back t o t he idea t hat
oil i s hel d i n pores i n much t he same way t hat wat er i s hel d i n a sponge. We know t hat i t i snt possi bl e
t o get every l ast li t t l e drop of wat er out of a sponge - i t s al ways a bi t damp.
Oil expl orat i on i nvol ves l ot s of peopl e wi t h di fferent ski ll s, for exampl e geol ogi st s, geophysi ci st s,
surveyor s, mudl oggers, comput er sci ent i st s, mari ne bi ol ogi st s, dri lling engi neers, t he drilling crew.
Al ongsi de t hese are all t he peopl e empl oyed back onshore f or example economi st s, pl anners, l awyers,
I T speci ali st s, envi ronment al advi sers and safet y advi sor s t o name a f ew.

Fact s, Figures and Explanat ions
Product ion - How Crude Oil and Gas are Ext ract ed


I f l arge deposi t s of crude oi l and gas are found, t he company must apply t o t he Government t o devel op
t he oil fi el d and bring it i nt o product i on. The average t i me bet ween di scoveri ng an oil fi el d i n t he Nort h
Sea and pi pi ng oil ashor e i s fi ve years. Duri ng t hat t i me vari ous st ages bef ore pr oduct i on are gone
t hrough.
Companies developing new off shor e fields have t hree main opt ions:
A Fixed plat form
The l egs - made ei t her of st eel or concr et e - are known as t he j acket and t ake about 2 years t o
const ruct . Many are made i n Scot l and. They ar e bui lt on l and and t hen fl oat ed out t o t hei r l ocat i on over
t he well s whi ch have been l eft by t he appr aisal- dr illing uni t and secured t o t he seabed by l arge st eel
pi ns. The accommodat i on, dri lling and product ion faci li t i es pad for hel icopt ers t o l and on - known as t he
t op- si des - are al so buil t onshore, t hen t owed out on a barge. These modul ar part s ar e lift ed i nt o
posi t i on by a massi ve crane barge. Fi xed pl at for ms can operat e i n wat er dept hs of up t o about 400
met r es.
Float ing product ion facilit ies
These are desi gned ei t her l i ke a semi - submersi bl e drill ri g or li ke a convent i onal ship. They are useful
for smal l er fi nds because t hey can be moved and used agai n el sewher e when t he fi el d i s no l onger
produci ng. However because fl oat i ng product ion pl at forms ar e l ess abl e t o cope wi t h heavy st orms,
product i on i s more li kely t o be suspended duri ng adver se weat her condit i ons t han i t woul d be usi ng a
fi xed pl at form.
Underwat er product ion facilit ies
These ar e a seri es of seabed wel l heads cont roll ed remot el y fr om a nearby fi xed pl at form. Thi s
i nnovat i ve met hod of product i on has been devel oped al most ent i rel y because of t he condi t i ons i n t he
Nort h Sea. Compani es have t ri ed t o fi nd ways of maki ng t he best use of t hei r exi st i ng fi xed pl at forms
and by searchi ng surr oundi ng areas have somet i mes f ound l ot s of small reser voi rs. An underwat er
wel lhead i s i nst all ed t o produce oi l and gas fr om t hese smal l reservoi rs whi ch i s t hen pi ped back t o t he
pl at form for pr ocessi ng and t ransport at i on t o shor e. Thi s means t hat small oil and gas deposi t s can be
recovered.



Under sea View
Oil Plat forms
Oil pl at forms ar e reall y i ndust ri al t owns at sea. I n addi t i on t o dri lling t he ot her mai n funct i ons of an oi l
pl at form ar e:
Prepari ng wat er and gas f or i nj ect i on i nt o t he r eser voi r - t o mai nt ai n pressur e.
Processi ng t he crude oi l, whi ch i s a hot , fr ot hy, corr osi ve, hi gh pressur e li quid.
Pumpi ng t he oi l ashore.
Provi di ng all t he necessi t i es of ever yday l i vi ng for t hose who work i n t he har sh envi ronment of
t he Nort h Sea.
An oil r ig whi ch i s a small er, mobi l e st ruct ur e i s used f or dri lling expl orat i on well s and shoul d not be
confused wi t h a product i on pl at form t hat accommodat es all t he act i vi t i es
expl ained above.

A product ion plat for m oper at es 24 hour s a day for 3 65 days a year.
I t has t hree main sect ions:
Accommodat ion area
Thi s i ncl udes cabi ns, cant eens, r ecreat i onal facilit i es and offi ces as well as a heli copt er pad f or fl yi ng
st aff on and off t he pl at for m. Ther e ar e about 26, 000 peopl e worki ng offshor e i n UK wat ers at any one
t i me. Whil st some pl at forms have up t o 100 peopl e worki ng on t hem, ot her s ar e unmanned. General l y
when peopl e ar e on a pl at form t hey work a 12 hour shi ft and t hen have 12 hour s r est . Depending on
t hei r j ob, t hey may ei t her work t wo weeks of fshore fol l owed by t wo weeks at home or t hr ee weeks
off shor e wi t h t wo weeks l eave. Suppl y boat s const ant l y shut t l e from shor e t o t he pl at forms t aki ng in
suppli es and bri ngi ng away r efuse.
Wellhead/ drilling module
Thi s cont ai ns t he der ri ck, dri ll fl oor and wellheads. Each wel l has a speci fi c funct i on: i t may be a
product i on wel l , a wat er i nj ect i on well , t hrough whi ch wat er i s pumped down i nt o t he r eser voi r; or a
gas i nj ect i on well t o pump gas back down i nt o t he reser voi r. These met hods ar e used t o get mor e oi l
out of t he reservoi r.
Crude oil i s nat urall y forced t o t he surf ace because i t i s under pr essure i n t he reservoi r. However , as
t he fi el d get s ol der t her e i s l ess pr essure so wat er or gas has t o be pumped down t he i nj ect i on well s t o
i ncrease t he pressur e and for ce t he crude oi l up.
Process facilit ies - ar e used t o separ at e cr ude oil, gases and wat er
What comes out of t he wel l i s a mi xt ure of cr ude oi l , gas and wat er and so needs t o be separat ed
befor e bei ng t ransport ed t o shor e. The wat er i s cl eaned and t hen ei t her pumped back i nt o t he sea or
i nj ect ed back i nt o t he r eser voi r t o mai nt ai n pressur e. The gas i s compr essed and pi ped back t o shore or
i nj ect ed back i nt o t he reser voi r t o i ncrease pr essur e. Some of t he gas i s used as fuel for t he pl at form
generat ors.
Safet y
Wi t h so many peopl e wor ki ng in pot ent i all y dangerous si t uat i ons,
not hi ng i s l eft t o chance wher e saf et y i s concerned. Hi ghl y t rai ned
safet y managers are empl oyed t o make sur e t hat al l safet y
equi pment - li feboat s, f i re- fi ght ing equi pment , smoke hoods et c - i s
i n good worki ng order.
Ever yone who goes off shor e r ecei ves saf et y t rai ning, even day vi si t ors. Regul ar off shore workers must
pass a medi cal and compl et e a fi re- fi ght i ng and survi val course t hat t eaches t hem what t o do i n an
emergency.
Because off shore workers t ravel t o work by heli copt er, t hey al so have t o l earn how t o survi ve i f t he
heli copt er has t o di t ch in t he sea. Part of t hi s invol ves escapi ng from t he heli copt er and t hey pract i ce
how t o do t hi s by bei ng l ower ed, i n a si mul at ed heli copt er, i nt o a speci al wat er t rai ning t ank.
On all pl at forms saf et y exer ci ses and drill s are car ri ed out on a r egular basi s. Each manned pl at form
will al ways have a st andby shi p whi ch, i n an emergency, wi ll pi ck up wor kers and care f or t hem unt il
hel p arri ves.

Float ing Product ion, St orage and Offloading ( FPSO) I nst allat ions
I nt roduct ion
The of fshor e oil and gas indust ry has been usi ng fl oat i ng product i on, st orage and offl oadi ng syst ems, or
FPSOs, si nce t he mi d- 1970s. They can of fer si gni fi cant advant ages over fi xed pr oduct i on pl at forms
part i cul arl y i n remot e offshor e l ocat i ons where deep wat er , st rong ocean curr ent s and harsh weat her
condi t i ons may occur, or where export pi peli nes ar e di ffi cul t t o i nst all or uneconomi c t o run. They can
al so be fl oat ed of f at t he end of a fi el ds product i ve l i fe and re- used el sewhere, whi ch has
envi ronment al as wel l as economi c benefi t s, part i cul arl y for marginal fi el ds wher e t he product i on
faci lit i es may onl y be r equi red for a f ew year s.
UKOOA has an est abl ished commi t t ee t o deal speci fi call y wit h i ssues r el at ing t o FPSOs and ot her
fl oat ing st ruct ures used on t he UK Cont i nent al Shel f. Drawi ng on t he shared experi ence and expert i se
of i t s member and associ at e member compani es, as wel l as t he Heal t h and Safet y Execut i ve and t he
Depart ment of Trade and I ndust r y, t he commi t t ee commi ssi ons st udi es coveri ng a range of t opi cs in
t he desi gn, const ruct i on and safe operat i on of t hi s t ype of oi l and gas i nst all at i on. I t al so publi shes
guideli nes promot i ng best pract i ce deri ved f rom t hi s UK experi ence.
These web pages provi de basi c informat i on about t he fl oat ing syst ems used i n t he UK t oday,
part i cul arl y FPSOs. Ther e ar e li nks t o st udi es publi shed by t he FPSO commi t t ee and a sear ch engine for
rel evant gui deli nes t hat may be purchased fr om t he Associ at i on.

Frequent ly Asked Quest ions
What is an FPSO?
An FPSO i s a Fl oat i ng Product i on, St orage and Offl oadi ng uni t and i s j ust one of a range of di fferent
t ypes of fl oat i ng syst ems used by t he off shor e oil and gas i ndust ry t oday. I t i s si mil ar i n appearance t o
a shi p but i s desi gned quit e di ffer ent l y and carries on board all t he necessar y product i on and processi ng
faci lit i es normal l y associ at ed wi t h a fi xed oil and gas pl at form, but wi t h t he addit i on of st orage t anks for
t he crude oi l recover ed from t he well s on t he seabed bel ow. I t i s moor ed permanent l y on l ocat i on and
i s connect ed t o t he wel ls bel ow by fl exi bl e ri ser s.
Cli ck on t he pi ct ure bel ow t o vi ew i t i n full :

What dif fer ent t ypes of f loat ing syst ems ar e t here?
As t he name suggest s, f l oat i ng syst ems ar e not fi xed permanent l y t o t he seabed but are desi gned t o be
moored t o remai n on st at i on for l ong peri ods of t i me. Ther e ar e many di fferent vari ant s of t hese
syst ems, and t he t ermi nol ogy and acr onyms vary t oo, even for t he same " syst em"!
Some common abbrevi at i ons include:
FSO Fl oat i ng st orage and off l oadi ng syst em, oft en a shi p or barge- shaped float i ng hull
i ncorporat i ng t anks for st orage of pr oduced oi l, and a met hod of l oadi ng t he oil
i nt o offt ake t ankers. These i nst all at i ons do not have any pr oduct i on or processi ng
faci lit i es.
FPSO Fl oat i ng product i on, st orage and of fl oadi ng vessel whi ch i ncl udes, i n addi t i on t o
i t s st orage and offl oadi ng capabilit y, faci lit ies f or r ecei vi ng crude oi l from
produci ng wel l s and processi ng it for export by separat i ng wat er and gas.
FPS Fl oat i ng product i on syst em: a general t erm t o descri be any fl oat i ng facili t y
desi gned t o recei ve cr ude oi l from pr oduci ng wel l s and process i t . I t may not
have faci li t i es for st orage, i n whi ch case expor t woul d be by pi peli ne t o shore or
t o a nearby FSO.
FSU Fl oat i ng St orage Uni t ; a fl oat i ng facilit y i nt ended onl y f or st orage of oi l . Export
may be by pi peli ne t o an onshor e faci li t y rat her t han offl oaded t o shut t le t ankers.
Somet i mes used synonymousl y wi t h FSO.
FPS uni t s - whi ch have product i on but usuall y no st orage facili t i es
- can t ake many forms. They range i n si ze from convert ed barges
i nst all ed wi t h separat i on equi pment for smal l scal e pr oduct i on of
up t o 25, 000 barr el s of oi l per day ( b/ d) t o gi ant purpose-
desi gned vessel s wi t h capaci t y for processi ng mor e t han 200, 000
b/ d. Some may be convert ed dri lling ri gs or semi - submer si bl e
and t ensi on- l egged pl at forms.
FPSOs, whi ch combi ne product i on, st orage and offl oadi ng
faci lit i es, ar e usual l y "shi p- shaped" and may be purpose buil t or
convert ed f rom an exi st ing hull , i ncorporat i ng key modi fi cat i ons
t o i ncrease t he st rengt h or fat i gue r esi st ance i n part i cul ar areas.
Each desi gn has i t s own advant ages dependi ng on t he oil fi eld wat er dept h, l ocal envi ronment al
condi t i ons and economi c fact or s.
How many f loat ing unit s are t here?
Ther e ar e cur r ent l y 15 FPSO and FPS uni t s operat i ng on t he
UK Cont i nent al Shel f and 70 worl dwi de.

Why use a f loat ing syst em?
Acr oss t he worl d, oi l and gas i s bei ng found and produced i n
ever- deeper wat ers. Her e, wat er dept h, ocean curr ent s and
harsh weat her condi t i ons may all influence t he deci si on on
whi ch t ype of pr oduct i on inst all at i on t o use. A fi xed
i nst all at i on may not be t echni call y feasi bl e i n a part i cul arl y
chall engi ng l ocat i on wher e a fl oat i ng uni t would off er t he best
sol ut i on.
Fl oat i ng syst ems are al so a cost - ef fect i ve sol ut i on for
devel opi ng small er, sat elli t e or margi nal fi el ds i n shall ower wat er as t hey can be fl oat ed off when
reservoi rs ar e depl et ed, and re- used el sewher e. The benefi t s of "r ecycling" such faci li t i es are not j ust
economi c but al so envi r onment al .
How does an FPSO keep on st at ion?
The off shore i ndust ry has devel oped hi ghl y sophi st i cat ed moori ng and st at i on- keepi ng syst ems whi ch
enabl e oil product i on vessel s t o operat e saf el y and rel i abl y.
I n t he UKCS, where weat her condi t i ons can be ext reme, most vessel s have a cent ral moori ng
arrangement l ocat ed wi t hi n t he hull i n a "t urret ", t hat all ows t hem t o rot at e fr eel y around t he poi nt of
moori ng i n response t o shi ft i ng weat her di rect i on. Thi s i s known as "weat hervani ng" and allows t he
vessel s bow al ways t o poi nt i nt o t he prevai ling wi nd and current s, mi ni mi sing t he i mpact of nat ures
for ces. Oft en t hrust er syst ems ar e al so used t o suppl ement t he st at i on- keepi ng and cont rol vessel
headi ng.
I n count ri es wi t h mor e beni gn weat her, such an arrangement may not be r equi red and t he vessel i s
kept on st at i on by an ar ray of moori ngs and anchors, known as a spread- moored syst em.
How does an FPSO recover oil and gas?
The hydr ocarbons t r eat ed on an FPSO or FPS are pr oduced t hr ough wel l s t hat are l ocat ed on t he
seabed. Unt reat ed li quids are br ought t o t he surface vi a subsea equi pment on t he sea fl oor i ncl uding
val ves at t he well ( a "Chri st mas t ree") , a manifol d t o connect several wel l s t oget her i nt o one fl owline,
whi ch i s t hen li nked t o t he vessel . These pi pelines must pass fr om t he seabed t o t he fl oat i ng faci lit y at
t he sur face - and ar e call ed "ri sers". They must be fl exi bl e t o accommodat e t he heavi ng mot ion of t he
vessel above, and be very resi st ant t o fat i gue.

What are t he safet y precaut ions on boar d an FPSO?
Safet y on board any product i on faci li t y has t he ut most pri ori t y. Robust saf et y st andards must be i n
pl ace and ri gorousl y enfor ced. I n t he UK, all operat i ng compani es must submi t a Safet y Case t o t he
Heal t h and Safet y Execut i ve, whi ch:
demonst rat es t hat t he company has i n pl ace saf et y management syst ems;
has i dent i fi ed ri sks and reduced t hem t o as l ow as r easonabl y pract i cable;
has put management cont rol s i n pl ace;
has a safe r efuge f or personnel in t he event of an emergency and
has made pr ovi si ons for saf e evacuat i on and r escue.
Feat ures whi ch cont ri but e t o t he saf e operat i on of FPSOs ar e
descri bed bel ow:
The hull must be desi gned f or at l east t he expect ed l i fe of t he fi eld
- oft en 15 t o 25 year s - and const ruct ed t o st andards t hat wi ll
permi t i t t o remai n at sea duri ng t hi s t i me wit hout access t o dry
docki ng facili t i es. Of speci al i mport ance i s how t he vessel will
survi ve a possi bl e col lisi on at sea. Normal mari t i me cri t eri a are
used such t hat t he vessel will be abl e t o st ay afl oat wi t h any t wo
hull compart ment s fl ooded.
Crude oil st age t anks, an int egral part of t he FPSO hull , are
bl anket ed wit h inert gas t o mai nt ai n a safe envi ronment for
l oadi ng and di schargi ng crude oi l .
Oil and gas processi ng is cont rol l ed and moni t ored r emot el y. Shut down syst ems ar e bui l t i n t o cl ose off
t he fl ow and cont ai n hydrocarbons under pr essure i n an emergency and all owi ng depressuri sat i on vi a a
fl are st ack.
Prot ect i on agai nst fi re and expl osi on i s provi ded i n t he form of prot ect i ve coat i ngs and bl ast or
fi rewall s. Wat er del uge syst ems ar e i nst all ed i n open areas and spri nkler syst ems i n cl osed ar eas. The
accommodat i on bl ock i s mechani call y vent il at ed and pressuri sed, t aki ng fresh ai r from a saf e l ocat i on
remot e f rom t he pr ocess equi pment , and i s t hus a safe r efuge f or personnel .
Emergency evacuat i on i s pri maril y by helicopt er f rom a hel i deck si t uat ed di rect l y above t he
accommodat i on bl ock, or by servi ce craft . Ot her met hods use li feboat s, li fe raft s and st andby servi ce
craft worki ng i n t he fi eld. Per sonnel ar e t rai ned t o respond t o vari ous acci dent scenari os r el at i ng t o t he
process syst ems, i ncl udi ng safe shut down of operat i ons, de- pr essuri sat i on and event ual evacuat i on. All
per sonnel ar e pr ovi ded wi t h personal safet y equi pment such as sur vi val sui t s and li fe vest s.
How is t he oil t aken ashor e?
I n t he UK, crude oi l i s normal l y t ransport ed t o shor e usi ng dedi cat ed off- t ake or "shut t l e" t ankers
speci all y desi gned for t he weat her condi t i ons found offshor e i n Bri t ai n.
For exampl e, most shut t l e t ankers are now equi pped wit h a bow- l oadi ng syst em, usuall y hydrauli call y
operat ed. Bow l oadi ng was fi rst i nt roduced i n 1975 and has proved t o be hi ghl y reli abl e over t he year s.
The met hod i s well suit ed t o t he harsh condi t i ons oft en experi enced i n UK wat er s.
Ot her f eat ures i ncl ude emergency shut down equi pment and dynami c posi t i oni ng t o keep t he t anker on
st at i on at a saf e di st ance away f rom t he FPSO or st orage f aci lit y whil e loadi ng.
Cargo i s t ransf err ed by fl exi bl e hose or hoses whi ch connect t he i nst all at i on wi t h t he t anker . The
process of l oadi ng from t he st ern of t he FPSO t o t he bow of t he shut t l e t anker i s known as " t andem
l oadi ng"
What float ing product ion f acilit ies current ly oper at e on t he
UKCS?
Ther e are cur rent l y 15 fl oat i ng product i on facilit i es i n operat i on on
t he UK Cont i nent al Shel f. The most r ecent FPSO t o ar ri ve i n t he
Nort h Sea i s Ker r- McGees Gl obal Pr oducer I I I whi ch has j ust l eft
Swan Hunt er s Newcast l e- upon- Tyne shi p yard f or t he Leadon fi el d
i n t he Cent ral Nort h Sea. The fi rst oi l i s due t o fl ow by t he end of
2001.
Ot her r ecent st art - ups usi ng FPSO t echnol ogy are Amerada Hesss
Chest nut fi eld, al so i n t he Cent ral Nort h Sea, whi ch came on
st ream i n Jul y 2001and BGs Bl ake fi el d whi ch is l inked by pi peli ne
( known as a "t i e- back" syst em) t o Tali smans exi st i ng FPSO facilit y
on t he Ross fi el d.
Amerada Hess used FPSO t echnol ogy i n t he Nort h Sea wi t h t he
commi ssi oni ng of t he Pet r oj arl I i n t he earl y 1990s t o produce oil
from t he small Angus fiel d. I nt erest i ngl y, new product i on t echnol ogy has gi ven Angus a fr esh l ease of
li fe and aft er l yi ng dormant for ei ght years, i t has been r edevel oped and oil has once agai n st art ed t o
fl ow. Thi s t i me, pr oduct i on i s t i ed- back by pi peli ne t o anot her FPSO, t he Ui sge Gorm, whi ch al ready
servi ces t he Fi fe, Fergus and Fl ora fi el ds 18 km away t o t he sout h east .
I n t he r emot e, deep wat er s t o t he west of Shet l and, t wo fl oat ing facili t i es produce oi l from BPs
Schi ehalli on and Foi naven fi el ds respect i vel y, t he onl y fi el ds current l y in product i on i n t he At l ant i c
Margi n.
The f ol l owi ng i s a li st of t he FPSOs and FPS oper at i ng on t he UKCS t oday:
Oper at or Field Type of f loat ing
syst em
I nst allat ion
Dat e
AGI P Bal moral FPS June 1986
Conoco Banff FPS January 1999
Texaco Capt ai n FPSO December 1996
Amerada
Hess
Chest nut FPS Jul y 2001
Shell Curl ew FPSO Sept ember 1997
BP Foi naven FPSO November 1996
Ker r- McGee Gr yphon FPSO Sept ember 1993
Ker r- McGee Jani ce FPS Februar y 1999
Ker r- McGee Leadon FPSO Sept ember 2001
Conoco MacCull och FPSO April 1997
Ent erpri se Pi erce FPS Februar y 1999
Tali sman Ross FPSO March 1999
BP Schi ehalli on FPSO Jul y 1998
Shell Teal , Teal Sout h and Guill emot A FPSO August 1996
Amerada
Hess
Tri t on - Bi t t ern, Gui ll emot West &
Nort h West
FPSO March 2000

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