Murchison Cessation of Production
In a major milestone for the UK North Sea, CNR International brought production from its iconic Murchison field to a permanent close today.
This occasion heralds the end of production from a platform considered a giant of the global energy sector – its jacket and topsides are among the largest in the UK Continental Shelf – and which has played a key role in the success of the North Sea over the last 30 years.
First Oil from the platform was in September 1980. Two years after discovery of the Murchison field construction of the jacket began at the Ardesier yard on the Moray Firth in July 1977.
At the height of its production in 1982, peak oil of 150,383 bopd was achieved.
Over its 34 year lifetime, 393 million barrels of oil were recovered from this field, representing a recovery factor of 51%.
In 2002 CNRI took over the operated interest in Murchison, implementing an intensive and comprehensive programme of well repair, infill drilling and reservoir management, which saw CNRI extend the life of the field by 10 years. Furthermore, a great deal of attention was applied to a comprehensive asset integrity programme to extend the capabilities of this ageing platform.
During CNR's operatorship, we exported over 22.5 Million barrels of Oil with a peak production of 15,089bopd.
Although production will cease today, Murchison enters a new and exciting period which will see Murchison operating with 2014 POB levels of between 160 – 180 personnel - a higher level of activity than seen for many years.
CNRI’s vice president of production operations, Dave Whitehouse commented:
"Today’s cessation of production is a major development, not only for CNRI but for the whole North Sea sector, the platform has been instrumental in the outstanding success achieved by the industry over the last three decades.
"On a more personal level, many workers will have fond memories of time spent on the Murchison, with the platform widely known for its working atmosphere and the tremendous camaraderie that still exists amongst staff on-board.
"We will now move forward with delivering our decommissioning programme, which will see the platform fully dismantled and removed from the North Sea within five years."
