Nexen Petroleum is moving ahead with a new look concept for the Buzzard Phase 2 development in the U.K. North Sea following a reevaluation of the project earlier this year.

The original concept under consideration was a bridge-linked platform but Nexen wanted to find a cheaper option. The rethink has resulted in the new concept of an infill drilling program and subsea tieback solution to produce from the northern part of the Buzzard Field.

At the recent annual Share Fair in Aberdeen, held by trade body UK Oil & Gas, delegates heard that the new concept is being taken into FEED imminently and tenders for the FEED work are being evaluated.

The Buzzard Phase 2 plan of infill drilling and a subsea tieback still needs formal approval, but if the plan is given the green light then more work can be started this quarter.

Buzzard is located in the Outer Moray Firth in blocks 19/10, 20/6, 19/5a and 20/1S, about 96 km (59.6 miles) northeast of Aberdeen. It has a water depth of about 96 m (315 ft).

Nexen said Buzzard is the largest U.K. North Sea oil discovery in the past 20 years. Oil from Buzzard is exported via the Forties pipeline to the Kinneil Terminal in Scotland. Natural gas is exported via the FUKA pipeline system (Frigg UK Pipeline) to the St. Fergus Gas Terminal in northeast Scotland.

Nexen, a wholly owned subsidiary of China’s state-owned CNOOC Ltd, operates Buzzard with a 43.21% stake. The other partners are Suncor Energy (29.89%), BG (21.73%), Dyas EOG (4.70%) and Oranje-Nassau Energy Petroleum (0.47%).

The Buzzard Field was discovered in June 2001 using the semisubmersible rig Ocean Nomad, which initially encountered a 122-m (400-ft) gross oil column.

The oil column tested at 6,547 bbl/d. A subsequent sidetrack extended the oil-bearing sands 1.3 km (less than 1 mile) to the east and increased the gross oil column to 229 m (750 ft).

The Buzzard Field’s total recoverable reserves are estimated at more than 550 MMbbl of oil.

—Steve Hamlen