New subsea technology could generate £3 billion from the North Sea, Wood Mac says

ABERDEEN -- Wood Mackenzie and the Oil & Gas Technology Centre announced today that developing new subsea technology and approaches to field developments could help unlock an additional 400 MMbbl of oil and gas and generate £3 billion of additional value.

On the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), there is 3.4 Bbbl of oil and gas potential discovered in marginal fields, or ‘small pools’. At the current oil price, 1.5 Bbbl in small pools in the basin are potentially economic. The Technology Centre’s ‘Tie-back of the Future’ initiative, which aims to both half the cost and half the time to develop small pools, would make an additional 400 MMbbl economic.

The initiative brings together 25 operators, supply chain firms and technology developers to transform the approach to developing marginal fields. Creating a circular economy, whereby subsea equipment is designed for disassembly and reuse, is at the heart of the initiative.

To date, the Technology Centre has invested £250,000 in engineering activity to develop the initiative, five technology projects are underway, 13 technology proposals are in the pipeline and six integrated studies have been completed. Industry support from operating and supply chain companies is required to make the Tie-back of the Future a reality.

The UKCS has around 10% of the world’s small pools and with 27 Bbbl in small pools globally, there is huge potential to take solutions developed here to other basins with marginal fields, driving international growth and export opportunities.