The Erskine Field, Block 23/26b, UK North Sea

Abstract

The Erskine high-pressure–high-temperature gas condensate field was the first such field developed in the UK Continental Shelf. Since production started in 1997, the field has produced over 350 bcf of gas and 70 MMbbl of condensate. The reservoir pressure has depleted from an initial pressure of 960 bar (13 920 psi) down to 140–400 bar (2030–5800 psi), resulting in some compaction and sand production in some of the wells. Free water production has led to the formation of wellbore scale, which has required interventions to remove.The reservoirs are sandstones of the Jurassic Puffin, Pentland and Heather formations. Estimates of hydrocarbons in place made using production and pressure data compare favourably with the initial estimates made during field development planning, although the Pentland Formation volume is some 20% below the sanction estimate.Several major field outages have occurred, such as a condensate fire in 2010 and a blockage of the multiphase export pipeline in 2007. In addition, the field has experienced flow assurance problems related to scale and wax deposition. A new pipeline section was installed in 2018 to bypass a full pipeline blockage which occurred due to wax deposition.

UK oil and gas fields: an overview

“…The production history of the first-developed high-pressurehigh-temperature (HPHT) discovery, Erskine Field, is updated by Robertson (2020). The Jurassic reservoirs of Erskine have now produced over 350 bcf and 70 MMbbl condensate, although the field has had several long production outages due to pipeline rupture, leaking condensate, wax-related flow assurance problems and scale deposition.…”