Cormorant Alpha
| Cormorant oilfield | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Country | Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Region | Shetland basin |
| Block | 211/26a |
| Offshore/onshore | Offshore |
| Coordinates | 61°06′9″N 1°4′22″E / 61.10250°N 1.07278°ECoordinates: 61°06′9″N 1°4′22″E / 61.10250°N 1.07278°E |
| Operator | TAQA Bratani |
| Field history | |
| Discovery | September 1972 |
| Start of production | 1979 |
| Peak year | 1979 |
| Production | |
| Estimated oil in place | 90 million barrels (~1.2×107 t) |
| Estimated gas in place | 600×109 cu ft (17×109 m3) |
The Cormorant oilfield is located 161 kilometres (100 mi) north east of Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland, in block number 211/26a. It was discovered in September 1972 at a depth of 150 metres (490 ft). Estimated recovery is 90 million barrels (14×106 m3) of oil. The oil reservoir is located at a depth of 2,895 metres (9,498 ft).
Originally, it was operated by Shell and licensed to Shell/Esso. On 7 July 2008, it was purchased by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company.
Production started in December 1979 from the Cormorant Alpha platform. This platform is a concrete gravity platform of the Condeep type. It has four legs and storage capacity for 1 million barrels (160,000 m3) of oil. The total sub-structure weight is 294,655 tonnes and it is designed to carry a topsides weight of 32,350 tonnes.
The topsides facilities included capability to drill, produce, meter and pump oil. It also has capability to re-inject water to maintain reservoir pressure. Peak production was 24,000 barrels per day (3,800 m3/d) in 1979. The platform is also the starting point for the Brent System pipeline, a major communications centre and the location of Brent Log - air traffic control for Northern North Sea helicopter traffic.
In addition an Underwater Manifold Centre (controlled from the Cormorant platform also produces oil. This started up in mid 1983. It has a design capacity for 50,000 barrels per day (7,900 m3/d). The UMC lost communications several years ago but a project ongoing in 2006 is looking to produce from the UMC once again. Also a single satellite well (P1) is linked to the platform with a design capacity of 10,000 barrels per day (1,600 m3/d).
Natural gas is exported from Cormorant Alpha via the Vesterled gas pipeline which connect into the FLAGS pipeline at Brent Alpha to St Fergus Gas Terminal.
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Wikipedia