Project Profile
Location: Block 16/26, northeast Aberdeen, Scotland
Water Depth: 158 m
Estimated Reserves: 1 billion barrels of oil
Production: 4,000 barrels of liquids (2015)
Discovery Year: 1984
Start-up Year: 1994
The Alba field is located 209 km northeast of Aberdeen, Scotland on UK North Sea Block 16/26. The water depth of the well is approximately 138 metres. Alba was discovered in 1984 by Chevron, granted government approval for field development in 1991 and commenced production in 1994. The Alba field contains around 1 billion barrels of oil in place and has so far produced around 400 million barrels.
Field Development
Phase I
The first phase included the installation of a new platform-based facility in the northern area of the field using a floating storage unit and a fixed steel platform - Alba Northern Platform. The platform consists of production capabilities, drilling and living quarters, and is the first of its kind in the UK sector of the North Sea. The eight-legged structure stands in 158 m of water and supports a 20,200 metric-ton topside with slots for 24 wells. Tankers transport Alba oil, and it is then exported to Britannia.
Phase II
Phase two of the project consisted of installing a second platform, Alba Southern, in the southern area of the field. This second phase of construction came online in 2004.
Operators:
Chevron: Operator with 23.37% interest
Statoil: 17% interest
Endeavour Energy: 25.68% interest
Mitsui: 13.3% interest (acquired from BP in June 2012)
Centrica: 12.65% interest
EnQuest (after acquiring Cieco in Jan 2013): 8% interest
Contractors:
Bilfinger Salamis UK: Provide fabric maintenance services
Heerema Fabrication Group: fabricating the Alba field B3 compression platform project
RBG: Deliver electrical rope access services
Wood Group: Operations and maintenance support services. Contract to deliver engineering and construction services
Petrofac (Offshore Projects & Operations business unit): Major reimbursable contract to provide engineering and construction support worth up to US$120m for Chevron’s three operated assets – the Captain, Alba, and Erskine platforms. The contract – awarded under a competitive tender – is for up to three years, plus two one year options.