First oil for redeveloped Shetland fields signals North Sea ‘growth’ for BP

The Schiehallion and the adjacent Loyal fields were first developed in the mid-1990s and have produced nearly 400 million barrels of oil since production started in 1998, BP said.

The new project, dubbed Quad 204, is a partnership between Shell and North Sea oil and gas business Siccar Point Energy.

Redevelopment has included the construction and installation of a harsh water floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel – known as the ‘Glen Lyon’.

Quad 204 is expected to produce a further 450 million barrels, extending the life of the fields until at least 2035. Production throughout the rest of this year is expected to reach 130,000 barrels of oil per day, BP added.

Mark Thomas, regional president for BP’s North Sea business, said: “In safely delivering first oil from the Quad 204 project, we have succeeded in one of the largest ever UK mid-life offshore redevelopments.”

BP group chief executive Bob Dudley added that Quad 204 marked a return to growth for the company’s North Sea business.

Selling up

In January BP announced it had sold 25% of its North Sea Magnus oilfield, a 25% stake in various pipelines and a 3% stake in the Sullom Voe Terminal to oil and gas production company EnQuest for $85 million (£68m).

Then in April the oil and gas major sold its entire Forties pipeline business to chemical manufacturer Ineos for $250 million (£200m).

At the time, Thomas said the move would allow BP to focus its North Sea business around core offshore assets – “bringing new fields into production, redeveloping and renewing existing producing facilities, and acquiring and exploring new acreage and interests through licence rounds and farm-ins”.