Premier Oil's Solan facility, including subsea tank, jacket and topside, have now been installed west of Shetland.
Hook up and commissioning will start on the development, which is in Block 205/26a, in 135m water depth, but first oil will be dependent on progress of this phase of work, said Premier.
Image: Heerema Marine Contractor's semisubmersible crane vessel Thialf installing the Solan topsides.
The field is being developed using a four-legged steel jacket and topsides, built at Burntisland's yards Methil and Arnish in Scotland by Burntisland Fabrications, and a subsea tank, built at Drydocks World in Dubai. The platform, once operational, is due to be normally unmanned.
Image: The Solan jacket, offshore Orkney, on its way out to the field last month. Photo by Magnus Budge.
Solan was discovered in the 1990s, but remained inactive until Chrysaor took it over as part of the UK Government’s Fallow Field initiative and drilled appraisal wells in 2008 and 2009. Premier farmed-in in 2011.