United Kingdom Oil and Gas Fields: 50th Anniversary Commemorative Volume
Geological Society Memoir 52 records the extraordinary journey of more than 50 years that has led to the development of some 458 oil and gas fields on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS). It contains papers on almost 150 onshore and offshore fields in all of the UK's main petroliferous basins. These papers range from look-backs on some of the first-developed gas fields in the Southern North Sea, to papers on fields that have only just been brought into production or may still remain undeveloped, and includes two candidate CO2 sequestration projects.
These papers are intended to provide a consistent summary of the exploration, appraisal, development and production history of each field, leading to the current subsurface understanding which is described in greater detail. As such, the Memoir will be an enduring reference source for those exploring for, developing, producing hydrocarbons and sequestering CO2 on the UKCS in the coming decades. It encapsulates the petroleum industry's deep subsurface knowledge accrued over more than 50 years of exploration and production.
The Ketch, Schooner and Topaz fields, Blocks 44/26, 44/28, 49/1a and 49/2a, UK North Sea
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Published:October 30, 2020
Abstract
The Ketch, Schooner and Topaz fields were discovered between 1984 and 1987 and produced from Upper Carboniferous, Westphalian C/D (Bolsovian/Asturian) reservoirs. Gas production began in 1996, 1999 and 2009 for Schooner, Ketch and Topaz respectively. The low net-to-gross reservoir consists of discrete, low sinuosity fluvio-deltaic channels evolving upwards into an aggradational, distal fluvial fan setting, dominated by braided channels. Fault compartmentalization and variable sandbody extent mean that reservoir connectivity was a key subsurface uncertainty. The Ketch and Schooner fields gas-in-place estimates at development approval of 956 and 1021 bcf are now modelled as 581 and 654 bcf respectively. This reduction is due mainly to remapping (Schooner) and revised reservoir modelling reflecting production experience. Generally poor reservoir connectivity is demonstrated by the lower connected gas-in-place volumes, estimated at 351 and 481 bcf respectively, based on production data. Field recovery to cessation of production in 2018 was 263 (Ketch) and 310 bcf (Schooner) or 75 and 64% of the in-place volume connected to production wells. Topaz has 139 bcf gas in place, with recovery of 10.4 bcf from a connected volume of 14 bcf, equating to 74% recovery of connected volumes or 7.5% full field recovery.
- Atlantic Ocean
- Carboniferous
- characterization
- clastic rocks
- continental shelf
- correlation
- enhanced recovery
- Europe
- geophysical methods
- geophysical profiles
- geophysical surveys
- history
- hydrocarbons
- lithostratigraphy
- natural gas
- North Atlantic
- North Sea
- oil and gas fields
- organic compounds
- Paleozoic
- petroleum
- petroleum exploration
- production
- reservoir properties
- sandstone
- sealing
- sedimentary rocks
- source rocks
- structural traps
- surveys
- traps
- United Kingdom
- Upper Carboniferous
- Western Europe
- Westphalian
- Silver Pit Basin
- Conybeare Group
- Schooner Field
- Schooner Formation
- Topaz Field
- Ketch Field