FAQ

What is the current status of the Buchan & Hannay fields?

Production from Buchan & Hannay has now ceased and the floating production unit (FPU), Buchan Alpha, has been removed from the fields and the remaining decommissioning is planned.

Who owns the Buchan & Hannay infrastructure?

Repsol Resources UK Limited own 100% of the facilities.

Where exactly are the Buchan & Hannay fields?

The Buchan fields spans blocks 20/5a and 21/1 and is located c. 154km northeast of Aberdeen and c. 103km from the UK/Norwegian median line in a water depth of c.115m

What is the history of the field?

The field was discovered in 1974 and first oil was achieved in May 1981 via the Buchan Alpha FPU. The Buchan Alpha continued to produce right up until August 2017 other than two interim trips to port. In 1984 gas compression system was in installed on the FPU in Kishorn and in 1999 the FPU underwent life extension works in Invergordon and a flexible riser system was installed.

What were the production capabilities?

Buchan Alpha produced almost 150mm barrels of oil during the 36 year long production life span. The initial production from the Buchan field was around 50,000 barrels of oil per day, by 2012 production had declined to less than 5,000 barrels.

How was Buchan & Hannay oil exported?

Buchan & Hannay production was transported by a 56km export oil pipeline to Forties Charlie and onwards to shore via the Forties Pipeline System (FPS).

What is the pipeline profile for the Buchan and Hannay fields?

The Buchan & Hannay pipeline complex consists of:

  • Main oil export pipeline – approx. 56km majority is concrete coated rigid pipeline trenched and buried along the majority of its length
  • Buchan inter-field pipelines – combination of rigid and flexible surface laid pipelines utilised for inter-field gas-lift, water-injection and production pipelines running to and from the subsea wells
  • Buchan inter-field umbilicals – flexible surface laid control umbilicals
  • Hannay pipelines – approx. 13km rigid pipelines trenched and buried
  • Hannay umbilical – approx. 13km flexible trenched and buried

What other subsea infrastructure needs to be decommissioned?

Other infrastructure to be decommissioned includes:

  • Structures including the Buchan template, Hannay manifold, Hannay SSIV (subsea isolation valve) and PLEM (pipeline end manifold)
  • Retrofit anode skids and seabed deposits