Vorlich oil field : BP and Ithaca commence production from North Sea tieback

BP and Ithaca Energy have commenced production from the Vorlich oil field, a £230 million subsea tieback development in the UK North Sea.

The Vorlich field, which was discovered in 2014, is estimated to yield 30 million barrels of oil equivalent. It is projected to have a peak production of 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent gross per day.

The two-well development is located approximately 240km east of Aberdeen, Scotland, tied back to the Ithaca Energy-operated FPF-1 floating production facility, which is situated at the center of the Greater Stella production area.

Emeka Emembolu – BP North Sea senior vice president, commenting on the Vorlich oil field startup, said: “In just two short years, bp and our partner, Ithaca Energy, have pulled out all the stops to rapidly bring Vorlich online against a highly challenged backdrop. My sincere thanks and admiration go to all involved for overcoming many hurdles to reach this fantastic milestone.”

BP and Ithaca Energy begins production from the Vorlich oil field. Photo courtesy of bp p.l.c.

How Ithaca Energy and BP brought the Vorlich oil field on stream

Ithaca Energy, on its part, handled the installation of the subsea infrastructure and modification of the FPF-1 floating production facility, enabling it to receive and process the new production from the Vorlich oil field.

BP handled the operations of the field during the development phase. This included the drilling of the two wells and also installation of the wellheads.

With the offshore UK field entering into production, its operatorship will be taken over by Ithaca Energy.

Originally slated to start production in September, the Vorlich oil field was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stuart Johnstone – BP Central North Sea tiebacks project manager said: “It goes without saying that all the decisions taken in response to COVID were absolutely necessary to protect the health and wellbeing of our colleagues on the project.

“But, with industry in lockdown and an ever-decreasing summer work window, it was hard to remain upbeat around the chances of bringing Vorlich online this year. Despite this, we dug deep, pulling out all the stops to turn things around.”