First production from Lundin’s Brynhild subsea tieback development has been set back to due commissioning issues on the Haewene Brim FPSO.
Brynhild, which sits in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea, will be a four-well subsea tieback to Bluewater’s Haewene Brim, which produces the Shell-operated Pierce field, 38km from Brynhild in the UK sector.
First production had been slated for the end of 2013. Lundin Petroleum subsidiary Lundin Norway said today that the upstream portion of the Brynhild project, which it operates, was progressing satisfactorily, but that production start-up is now expected late in Q3 2014.
Image: The Haewene Brim in drydock at Nigg.
The FPSO had been through a comprehensive modification program, by Bluewater on behalf of Shell, in order to prepare for introduction of hydrocarbons from the Brynhild field commingled with the existing Pierce field, and extend the life of the vessel.
The vessel was dry docked at the Nigg fabrication yard in the Cromarty Firth, northeast Scotland (pictured). It was the first time the yard, operated by Global Energy Group, had accommodated an FPSO.
The completed workscope, led by engineering group AMEC, included upgrading topside heaters, significant upgrades to metering systems, installing upgraded subsea control systems and replacing.
“Whilst the upgrades of the topside and subsea equipment as well as the risers' installations have been completed, ongoing commissioning activities for start-up have taken longer than anticipated to be completed prior to the re-introduction of hydrocarbons into the FPSO,” said Lundin.
Ashley Heppenstall, President and CEO of Lundin Petroleum, said: "We are disappointed and frustrated that the Haewene Brim FPSO is still not ready to accept Brynhild production. Nevertheless we remain confident regarding the productivity of the Brynhild reservoir and the project delays have had no impact on Brynhild reserves. The delay in first production has clearly impacted our 2014 production guidance, but we still retain our production guidance for 2015 of approximately 50,000 boe/d."
Gross reserves at Brynhild, according to Lundin, are 23MM boe. Plateau production is estimated at 12M boe/d.
The Brynhild field will operate using a subsea production system (SPS) tied back via a 38km-long, 6in.-daimeter pipe-in-pipe flowline, with a control system on the Haewene Brim.
A riser base manifold, containing isolation valves and a multiphase flow meter module, adjacent to Pierce, will be the commingling point between Brynhild and Pierce.
The common Brynhild-Pierce well flow will then be transported to the FPSO via a renewed 10-in.-diameter dynamic flexible riser for well fluid processing on the Haewene Brim.
Produced gas will be re-injected into the Pierce field. A water injection system will inject treated seawater into both the Pierce and Brynhild fields.
The Hæwene Brim was converted from a shuttle tanker to an FPSO at the Aker McNulty yard in Newcastle in late 1997-1998, and started operating at the Pierce field early in 1999.
The Haewene Brim last drydocked at A&P Tyne’s number 5 dock on Tyneside, England, in 2004, for the addition of a water injection topides module and hull maintenance, led by a partnership between A&P Tyne and McNulty Offshore Contractors.
Lundin Norway is the operator of PL148 with a 90% interest, with partner Talisman Energy Norge owning the remaining 10%.
Subscribe
