Velocity string campaign completed at West Sole gas field

Improving gas production in support of energy security and lower carbon emissions

Perenco UK has successfully completed a campaign of velocity string installations on five wells at the West Sole Charlie platform in the Southern North Sea (SNS), situated 70 km east of Perenco’s Dimlington terminal on the Yorkshire Coast.

The campaign was conducted by the Petrodec HAEVA rig and has delivered sustained production gains of around +5 MMscf/d, in line with expectations.  The planned scope was completed ahead of schedule and within budget, confirming the technical and commercial success of the project.

Improved production rates are now being seen in each of these wells, which have been running with 100% uptime, rather than requiring cycling.  Two of the wells to have been restarted were previously shut-in and not producing. The net effect is a new production rate for the West Sole field sustained above the 30 MMscf/d level.

Recompletion using velocity strings is a proven technology in fields that are no longer producing at their original high gas rates. In the case of West Sole, the original completion with 5½” tubings were no longer optimal, given the now partially depleted reservoir. Inserting velocity strings of narrower diameter helps to increase the fluid velocities, thereby sustaining production at lower pressures and allowing extension of field life.  Perenco had previously deployed this technique to good effect in 2020 at the nearby Perenco operated Hyde field and decided to continue with such a deployment at West Sole Charlie.  Other SNS fields, such as Apollo, are being evaluated for similar potential.

Perenco UK SNS Managing Director, Jo White, said:

“Demand for gas in the UK is set to remain high, so enhancing recovery from domestic gas fields is vital for both energy security and for improving overall emissions intensity. Local natural gas resources have a significantly lower carbon footprint than imported liquified natural gas (LNG), which today accounts for a high proportion of the balance of supply.

West Sole was the first offshore natural gas field to be developed in the UK. Since 1967, it has delivered cumulative production of more than 2.2 trillion cubic feet of gas. It remains a significant production hub in the SNS offshore gas network, with potential for future development and tie-in of nearby gas discoveries.  Through renewal and application of new technology a sustainable and productive future remains possible for decades to come for the West Sole field.”

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