Shell restarts Pierce field operations in UK North Sea

Shell Plc (SHEL.L) said on Tuesday it had restarted operations at the Pierce field in the UK Central North Sea, following an upgrade to allow gas to be produced at the location after years of it producing only oil.

Pierce is a joint venture between Shell, which owns 92.5% of the venture, and Ithaca Energy (ITH.L) which owns the rest.

Peak production at the field is expected to reach 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the energy major said in a statement, which is more than twice the production prior to redevelopment, with more gas being produced than oil.

Substantial modifications were made to the floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) vessel Haewene Brim, which is used to produce hydrocarbons at the Pierce field, Shell said.

The FPSO, owned and operated by Bluewater, had stopped production in October 2021 to enable the field's upgrade.

The oil and gas giant said a new subsea gas export line was also installed, connecting to the SEGAL pipeline system, which brings gas ashore at St Fergus, north of Aberdeen.

The gas will be sent through newly installed subsea pipelines and the oil will be transported by tanker, it added.


Reuters