About Fulmar

The Fulmar platform was installed in 1981 with first oil production in 1982.  The installation is located approximately 217 miles east of Dundee and comprises of two fixed steel jackets.  It has facilities for drilling, production, accommodation and associated utilities.

The Fulmar platform processes production from the Fulmar field, Halley field and Auk North sub-sea tieback.  The Fulmar complex also acts as a gathering hub by providing a transportation and redelivery service for the Gannet, Auk, Clyde Orion and Flyndre fields through the oil export module.  Oil is exported from the Fulmar platform via the Norpipe system for onward delivery to the Teesside Terminal.

Initially Fulmar production was to a converted tanker serving as a Floating Storage Unit (FSU) in the North Sea at Shell/Esso's Fulmar Field which was moored to a Single Anchor Leg Mooring (SALM). The Fulmar storage and offloading system is the first such system installed in a rough weather area.

The export system was later converted whereby oil was exported from the Fulmar platform via the Norpipe system for onward delivery to the Teesside Terminal.


About the facilities

  • The Fulmar field was developed in 1982 and consists of two bridge-linked jacket structures, namely the Fulmar Alpha (Fulmar A) and the Fulmar Advanced Drilling (AD) platforms;
  • The Fulmar A platform is an eight-legged fixed steel jacket weighing approximately 12,400 Te;
  • The Fulmar AD is a four-legged fixed steel jacket weighing approximately 1,406 Te;
  • The Fulmar platforms have facilities for drilling, production, accommodation and associated utilities;
  • Auk North was developed in 2010 as a subsea manifold tie-back to the Fulmar Alpha platform via an 8", 11 km production pipeline;
  • The Fulmar A platform processes production from the Fulmar field, the Halley field (via an extended reach well) and from the Auk North tieback. Further, it provides a transportation and redelivery service for the Auk, Gannet, Clyde, Orion and Flyndre fields through the topside Oil Export Module; and
  • The ‘associated gas’ from the Fulmar, Halley and Auk North fields is either used as fuel on the platform or is flared. The Fulmar platform also has the facility to import gas via the Fulmar gas pipeline which runs from the St Fergus terminal.

The decommissioning of the Auk, Gannet, Clyde, Orion and Flyndre fields are not part of this decommissioning programme and will be subject to separate submissions.

Facilities to be decommissioned

Removal, onshore dismantling, recycling and disposal of topsides and substructures. 

Multiple options are being considered for the decommissioning of the Fulmar and Auk North infrastructure, all of which will undergo a screening process to identify those that are feasible.

The feasible options for the decommissioning of the Fulmar A jacket and all pipelines will be subject to a Comparative Assessment process to determine the best options with regards to their safety, environmental, societal, technical and economic performance.


View the Auk North and Fulmar overall field layout here: