
Shell has resumed production at the Penguins field in the UK North Sea using a state-of-the-art floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility.
The project is a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Shell and NEO Energy, with the former being the operator.
The previous export route for this field was via the Brent Charlie platform that ceased in 2021 and is now being decommissioned.
The new FPSO is expected to achieve peak production of approximately 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) and has an estimated recoverable resource volume of around 100 million barrels of oil equivalent.
While primarily focused on oil production, the facility will also produce enough gas to heat around 700,000 UK homes annually.
Compared with the Brent Charlie platform, the new FPSO is designed to have around 30% lower operational emissions, and will potentially extend the field’s life by up to 20 years.
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By GlobalDataThe Penguins FPSO, operated by Shell UK, a subsidiary of Shell, was constructed by Sevan, a Norwegian technology, design and engineering company.
This marks the first new Shell-operated facility in the UK North Sea in more than 20 years.
Its compact design with a cylindrical hull is claimed to offer increased efficiency and flexibility, and features a flareless system that recycles vapour to reduce emissions.
Due to the UK’s limited refining capacity, oil will be transported by tanker to refineries outside of the country. Some of these refineries supply refined products such as petrol and diesel back to the UK.
Natural gas will be transported to the St Fergus gas terminal in Scotland via an existing pipeline, which supplies the UK’s national gas network.
Shell Integrated Gas and Upstream director Zoë Yujnovich said: “Today, the UK relies on imports to meet much of its demand for oil and gas.
“The Penguins field is a source of the secure domestic energy production people need today, and the FPSO is a demonstration of our investment in competitive projects that create more value with less emissions.”
Additional wells were drilled for the redevelopment of the Penguins field, which are connected to the new FPSO.
Located in 165m (541ft) of water, the field is around 150 miles (241.4km) north-east of the Shetland Islands.
Discovered in 1974, it previously produced oil and gas between 2003 and 2021.