Erskine is the first High Pressure, High Temperature field in production on the UK continental shelf. Modest reserves of rich gas condensate demanded innovative development concepts to achieve an economic project for field operator Texaco and co-venturer BPAmoco. A normally unattended wellhead platform is linked to a third party processing host by a multiphase pipeline. Since first production in December 1997 the design concepts, technologies and operational practices have been thoroughly tested and have proved to be conspicuously successful. The experience through design, commissioning and operation gained on this landmark development is recounted.
The lecture looks at some of the key decisions taken at the design stage of the project and through commissioning and early operating experience it is possible to see the impact of these decisions on operations and some of the complex inter-relationships between project and full life optimisation.
Key areas covered include reservoir characterisation, fluid property description, well completion design, multiphase metering and flowline performance, commissioning of gas processing and the principles and practice of normally unattended operations 240km offshore.
Biography
Rick Allen is currently the Asset Manager for the Erskine Field for Texaco in Aberdeen.
Rick studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham , graduating in 1976 and undertook further training and research on heat transfer and fluid flow in the power generation industry.
After a year as a commissioning engineer on gas plants in Saudi Arabia, he joined Texaco in Scotland in 1981 as a process engineer and has undertaken a wide variety of assignments for Texaco in both London and Aberdeen including operations engineering , petroleum engineering, commercial coordination and, latterly, asset management.
Rick has served as chairman of the Careers Guidance and Student Development committee of SPE International and is currently on the Continuing Education committee. He is a member of the Aberdeen section board with a particular interest in promoting engineering in schools and further education.
Rick has been active in mountaineering at the highest levels for 20 years, speaks French quite well, Russian quite badly and enjoys Scottish country dancing.
