Energy security, the energy path forward in one of the world’s most mature basins, and project and plan updates featured in the UK North Sea offshore industry in recent weeks.
Offshore Energies UK highlighted at the Security and Resilience Conference why energy security is national security. Offshore energy operators and supply chain companies were given an overview of the collaborative approach being taken to possible risks and help them develop strategies to protect energy distribution installations from potential threats.
“Given the current geopolitical instability and the potential risks to subsea infrastructure, we believe it is important for the offshore energy industry to take seriously the need for optimum security,” said Mark Wilson, OEUK’s director of health, safety, environment and operations.
The award of a major UK carbon storage project with the carbon storage permits for HyNet is the latest example of “real action” on net zero from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), said Stuart Payne, NSTA Chief Executive.
The three permit awards for HyNet followed hot on the heels of the one awarded to the Northern Endurance Partnership in December 2024.
“As a nation, we’ve talked about carbon storage for many years. But we had never reached this milestone before. These two projects will turbocharge the UK’s drive to unlock investment, jobs and economic growth and reach net zero emissions by 2050,” Payne said at the Innovation Zero in London at the end of April.
The NSTA is working with government and other regulators to accommodate and co-locate the full range of energy systems in UK waters. The regulator’s chief executive said that there was still a role for oil and gas, but that production needed to become cleaner.
“The North Sea’s history has been in oil and gas, helping power, heat and move the UK. Even today fossil fuels still make up three-quarters of our energy demand,” Payne said.
“Demand for those molecules must and will shrink, but, as the government has made clear, they will be part of the picture for decades to come.”
NSTA’s chief executive noted that “If we get it right, the North Sea can have a prosperous future which creates and safeguards employment and generates multibillion pound investments in all offshore energy projects.”
An NSTA pilot scheme for a technology showcase designed to boost the cost-efficiency of energy production and emissions reduction projects has grown rapidly, thanks to backing from the industry regulator.
The UK Energy Technology Platform (UK ETP), part of a year-long pilot scheme, has been a hit with everyone from multinationals to smaller operators and suppliers, NSTA said in May. UK user numbers jumped from 530 at the end of 2022 to 1,800 now, and technologies added to the site by UK suppliers have soared from 140 to 900 over the same period.
The UK ETP complements the NSTA’s annual Technology Insights Report, the most recent of which showed that the industry’s appetite for innovation remains healthy, as technologies were used 1,250 times in the UK continental shelf in 2023, up from 1,200 in 2022.
“I’m hugely encouraged that the UK ETP has gone from strength to strength as suppliers seize the opportunity to raise awareness of their technologies which will support the North Sea’s transition to net zero and help ensure that energy production is as clean as possible,” said Ernie Lamza, NSTA technology manager.
The North Sea has become increasingly crowded as a place for all kinds of offshore energy, but there is room for everyone, NSTA Director of New Ventures Andy Brooks said in May at the All-Energy Conference in Glasgow.
A combination of collaboration, exciting new technology and access to an abundance of freely-available data will enable harmonious sharing of space on the North Sea, Brooks noted.
“Different energy activities can co-locate and co-exist offshore, with spatial overlaps managed through early engagement and co-ordination, careful sequencing of activities, and deployment of specific technology,” the official added.
“Windfarm leases and oil and gas licences are already co-locating in several places, in particular in the Southern North Sea.”
Brooks cited the examples of how co-ordination between operators has enabled the successful co-existence of the Dudgeon windfarm, which overlaps with the Blythe and Elgood fields, and the Walney Extension and Rhyl gas field, operating side-by-side in the Irish Sea.
In company and project news, the NSTA has agreed to extend Centrica Offshore UK Ltd’s consent to operate the Rough gas storage site, off the East Coast of England in the Southern North Sea, until 30 April 2026. This will enable Rough to continue to support the UK’s energy security. Rough is the UK’s largest gas storage facility, helping manage seasonal demand and energy security.
Centrica Energy Storage (CES+) has increased the capacity at Rough to 54 billion cubic feet (bcf) and continues to explore its role in the future of hydrogen. Today, Rough provides half of the UK’s gas storage, being able to store 54 bcf of gas – enough to provide the equivalent volume of gas to heat 2.4 million homes over winter.
The long term aim is to turn Rough into the largest long duration energy storage facility in Europe, capable of storing both natural gas and hydrogen with the goal of bolstering the UK’s energy security.
Serica Energy plc and EnQuest are scrapping a merger plan amid market volatility. In early May, Serica Energy Plc noted the announcement by EnQuest Plc confirming that EnQuest does not intend to make a firm offer for Serica.
While there would have been strategic and financial benefits to the combination, in light of current market volatility an agreement on terms that would have been in the best interests of shareholders was not possible at this time, Serica said.
The Board remains very confident in Serica’s standalone ability to generate significant cash flow and deliver shareholder value and highly competitive shareholder returns from its balanced portfolio of oil and gas assets, the company added.
In parallel, Serica continues to pursue its clear growth strategy, progressing numerous organic growth opportunities across the portfolio, as well as actively screening a number of cash-generative and value accretive M&A opportunities in both the UK North Sea and other geographies.
Deltic Energy Plc said that the Shell-operated Selene gas discovery in the Southern North Sea has now estimated to have gross 2C Contingent Resources of 174 bcf, a 33-percent increase on earlier estimates. Deltic Energy has a 25 percent non-operated interest in Selene.
The core analysis provided by the Selene licence operator, Shell, indicates significantly better porosity and permeability than previously assumed in Deltic’s P50 volumetric estimates and reservoir modelling. Regarding the gas quality analysis, Deltic’s expectation is that gas produced from Selene will require minimal processing to reach National Grid entry specifications.
“Recent global events have reinforced the case for maximising the benefits from the United Kingdom’s domestic resources,” commented Andrew Nunn, Deltic CEO.
“We continue to explore various avenues as we work to secure the funding required to maintain our interest in the Selene project as the JV works toward a Final Investment Decision in early 2027.”
Deltic’s chief executive also noted “We believe that it has never been more important for the UK to develop and maximise the benefit of its own resources, like Selene, and thereby maximising the proportion of ‘good barrels’ in the mix as we become increasingly dependent on imported oil and gas.”
Shell-operated Victory gas field is expected to come on stream in the fourth quarter of 2025, where production will be processed through the onshore Shetland Gas Plant (SGP), one of the minority project partners, Kistos Holdings, said in April.
Consulting and engineering group Wood has secured a trio of reimbursable contract extensions worth $118 million to continue to deliver operations and maintenance solutions for Shell UK, Dana Petroleum, and CNOOC International’s UK business.
These extensions will see Wood continue to support operations for an extensive offshore portfolio, including Shell UK’s Shearwater, Gannet, Nelson, and Penguins assets; Golden Eagle, Buzzard, and Scott for CNOOC; and the Triton and Western Isles FPSOs for Dana Petroleum.
EnerMech has been awarded a three-year cranes and lifting services contract for the Anasuria floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, located 127 km east of Aberdeen in the central North Sea.
EnerMech will continue to provide its core crew of Crane Operator / Mechanics to conduct maintenance and operations, as well as additional personnel for any major maintenance and project-related work.
“This award is another strong endorsement of our expertise in delivering critical lifting and maintenance solutions in the North Sea and supporting –FPSOs,” EnerMech CEO Charles ‘Chuck’ Davison Jnr said.
Drilling and well services provider Archer has signed a five-year contract with Repsol Resources UK for platform drilling services, facilities engineering, coil tubing, wireline services, and downhole well service technologies. The agreement includes a two-year optional extension.
This strategic partnership will support late-life operations and plug and abandonment activities on Repsol’s extensive platform portfolio including Piper, Claymore, Tartan, Saltire, Auk, Arbroath, Montrose, Beatrice, and Clyde. A key component of the contract is the P&A scope, covering approximately 130 wells.
Archer said the agreement further solidifies the company’s position as a trusted provider of integrated drilling and well services with commitment to safe and cost-effective operations in the North Sea.
