The Armada development, UK Central North Sea: The Fleming, Drake and Hawkins Gas-Condensate Fields

Abstract

abstractIn 1994 the Armada partnership sanctioned the simultaneous development of the Fleming, Drake and Hawkins Gas-condensate Fields by means of shared facilities; the overall project was called the Armada Development. The operator is BG International (formerly British Gas). The development was interesting because the component fields are not only separate accumulations, but are of completely different geological type.The Fleming Field is a Palaeocene, Maureen Formation high-density turbidite reservoir, sourced from the north but pinching out eastwards against the N S Utsira/Jaeren High and Hawking-Varg Ridge, and therefore forming a 20 km long, continuous, but very narrow reservoir. The drake Field is an Upper Jurassic. Fulmar Formation, shallow marine, shore-face reservoir, with excellent reservoir quality in a compact fault block. The Hawkins Field reservoir is poorer quality Fulmar Formation, typical of a more distal setting; the trap is formed by closure over a salt dome, and the structure is consequently quite heavily faulted.The challenge was to develop these disparate reservoirs from a single surface site. to capture the askward shape of Fleming and the distance between Drake and Hawkins. This was achieved by means of extended each drilling; although the high cost of such wells meant that every one had to be designed for maximum yield. Overall eifht wells were drilled, five to Fleming, two to Drake and one to Kawkins (these numbers being approximately proportional to gas-in-place). These wells are capable of delivering the project design peak rate of 450 mmscfd off-platform (equivalent to about 480 mmscfd reservoir gas), and up to 24000 BOPD condensate. Armada began production on schedule in October 1997.