SNS gas resources under spotlight

A new “think tank” has been launched to explore ways of tapping remaining gas supplies in the Southern North Sea.

The SNS Rejuvenation Special Interest Group will look at ways of getting energy from reserves previously considered too tricky and expensive to exploit economically.

The initiative has been launched by the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) the Oil & Gas Authority (OGA), and Oil & Gas UK.

At its first meeting, held at EEEGR’s Great Yarmouth headquarters, the SIG identified a range of challenges facing the Southern North Sea – whose energy industry is a major employer in East Anglia, through exploration, production, engineering, service and supply chain companies.

After 40 years of operation it is now at a pivotal phase through a mix of decreasing resources, aging infrastructure, and falling gas prices.

The SIG came up with three initial work streams to be tackled:

• Tight Gas – looking at ways to reduce costs to exploit expensive-to-extract reserves currently untouched because of high costs and high capital risk
• Collaboration with the renewables sector, including sharing resources such as boats, and helicopters and exploring gas-to-wire methods of generation power offshore and sending it to land via wind farm cabling
• UK/ Dutch differences ranging from cost bases and regulations to working cultures and practices.

EEEGR chief executive Simon Gray said: “The meeting exceeded our expectations, with three work streams which will make a difference quite quickly.”

Progress would be discussed by the SIG in February and reported to EEEGR’s annual SNS conference in Norfolk, attended by some 700 delegates, which will be based around the theme of “transition.”

SIG chairman Fraser Weir, of Centrica, said afterwards: “I am very happy with progress from the first meeting. It is easy to come up with the problems, but often a challenge to get a commitment to action.”

He was pleased at the wealth of diverse expertise from local and international companies at the meeting who signed up to drive the work streams forward.

OGA area manager Eric Marston added that collaboration was key to the future of the SNS. He was impressed the energy shown at the meeting as the SIG sought to accelerate the remaining opportunities in the sector before it was too late for the reserves and infrastructure.

“There is a perception the SNS is played out, but there is a lot of potential – though it is difficult to access.”

The session heard there were still significant reserves lying beneath the SNS seabed stretching from Teeside to Norfolk – another 3.7 trillion cubic feet (tcf) from existing fields and a further 5tcf from further drilling in current sites combined with undeveloped fields.

Members of the SIG group are Shell, Oranje-Nassau Energie, Premier Oil, ENGIE E&P UK, Centrica, ODE, Aker Solutions, James Fisher & Sons, DNVGL, Sembmarine SLP, Baker Hughes, Lloyds Register, Fraser Well Management, Acteon, SSE and Statoil.