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Released August 16, 2022 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Environmental plans have been submitted for one of the U.K.'s largest untapped oil and gas projects, located west of the Shetland Islands.
The submission by Norwegian energy major Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger) is a positive sign that it intends to proceed with the Rosebank project, which has been put on the back burner on a number of occasions, starting in 2019. For additional information, see June 18, 2019, article - Equinor Delays U.K. Rosebank Investment Call Until 2022. Rosebank, which lies around 130 kilometers (km) northwest of Shetland, is estimated to contain up to 300 million barrels of recoverable oil, according to industry estimates. At peak production, it will produce 69,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) of oil and roughly 44 million cubic feet of gas per day in its first 10 years.
Rosebank will create £8.1 billion (US$9.8 billion) in direct investment, according to Equinor, with more than two-thirds expected to go to U.K.-based businesses. It will have a significant impact on the U.K. production outlook and from its planned commissioning in 2026 through to 2030, Rosebank could account for 8% of the U.K.'s oil production. In 2021, the U.K. only produced 57% of the volumes required to meet oil demand and 41% of national gas demand.
"Equinor is committed to Net Zero by 2050 and is ready to invest to bring energy security while also transitioning to lower-carbon energy sources over the coming years," said Arne Gürtner, senior vice president upstream in the U.K. and Ireland. "Here in the U.K. we are building the world's largest wind farm, Dogger Bank, and are planning some of the largest hydrogen and CCS projects in the world. That said, for the next few decades oil and gas will continue to play a vital role alongside these low carbon systems. Therefore, while we still need oil and gas, we aim to develop and operate projects such as Rosebank with the lowest possible carbon footprint while bringing the maximum value to society in the shape of U.K. investment, local jobs and energy security."
The plan will be to drill four production wells and three water injection wells in Phase I of the development, which will be followed up with up to three further production wells and two water injectors in Phase II. The development concept for the Rosebank field includes redeployment and reuse of an existing floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which will avoid 250,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Equinor and partners have committed to investing £80 million (US$97 million) up front to ensure it will be possible to power operations with electricity, making one of the first oil and gas developments on the U.K. continental shelf to be powered by electricity from shore.
Industrial Info recently reported on a final investment decision by Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England) for the Jackdaw field development in the U.K., located approximately 275 km east of Aberdeen in the central North Sea. Shell estimates that the field has reserves of between 120 million and 250 million barrels of oil equivalent. At its peak, Jackdaw is expected to produce 6.5% of the U.K's total gas needs, enough to heat 1.4 million homes. For additional information, see June 14, 2022, article - U.K. Greenlights Jackdaw Oil and Gas Project.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
The submission by Norwegian energy major Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) (Stavanger) is a positive sign that it intends to proceed with the Rosebank project, which has been put on the back burner on a number of occasions, starting in 2019. For additional information, see June 18, 2019, article - Equinor Delays U.K. Rosebank Investment Call Until 2022. Rosebank, which lies around 130 kilometers (km) northwest of Shetland, is estimated to contain up to 300 million barrels of recoverable oil, according to industry estimates. At peak production, it will produce 69,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) of oil and roughly 44 million cubic feet of gas per day in its first 10 years.
Rosebank will create £8.1 billion (US$9.8 billion) in direct investment, according to Equinor, with more than two-thirds expected to go to U.K.-based businesses. It will have a significant impact on the U.K. production outlook and from its planned commissioning in 2026 through to 2030, Rosebank could account for 8% of the U.K.'s oil production. In 2021, the U.K. only produced 57% of the volumes required to meet oil demand and 41% of national gas demand.
"Equinor is committed to Net Zero by 2050 and is ready to invest to bring energy security while also transitioning to lower-carbon energy sources over the coming years," said Arne Gürtner, senior vice president upstream in the U.K. and Ireland. "Here in the U.K. we are building the world's largest wind farm, Dogger Bank, and are planning some of the largest hydrogen and CCS projects in the world. That said, for the next few decades oil and gas will continue to play a vital role alongside these low carbon systems. Therefore, while we still need oil and gas, we aim to develop and operate projects such as Rosebank with the lowest possible carbon footprint while bringing the maximum value to society in the shape of U.K. investment, local jobs and energy security."
The plan will be to drill four production wells and three water injection wells in Phase I of the development, which will be followed up with up to three further production wells and two water injectors in Phase II. The development concept for the Rosebank field includes redeployment and reuse of an existing floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, which will avoid 250,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Equinor and partners have committed to investing £80 million (US$97 million) up front to ensure it will be possible to power operations with electricity, making one of the first oil and gas developments on the U.K. continental shelf to be powered by electricity from shore.
Industrial Info recently reported on a final investment decision by Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL) (London, England) for the Jackdaw field development in the U.K., located approximately 275 km east of Aberdeen in the central North Sea. Shell estimates that the field has reserves of between 120 million and 250 million barrels of oil equivalent. At its peak, Jackdaw is expected to produce 6.5% of the U.K's total gas needs, enough to heat 1.4 million homes. For additional information, see June 14, 2022, article - U.K. Greenlights Jackdaw Oil and Gas Project.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the world's leading provider of market intelligence across the upstream, midstream and downstream energy markets and all other major industrial markets. IIR's Global Market Intelligence Platform (GMI) supports our end-users across their core businesses, and helps them connect trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated project opportunities. Follow IIR on: LinkedIn.
