From Aberdeen: There are always anomalies in offshore activity. To wit, Nexen has plans to drill several new production wells around the ETTRICK-BLACKBIRD (SEN, 27/9) complex which produces to the Bluewater fpso Aoka Miziu, while at the same time just beginning to plan the decommissioning of the field, sometime in 2015-2020 period.

Maersk and Talisman Sinopec are working together on the FLYNDRE-CAWDOR (29/10) subsea tieback project which is due for sanction before the end of the year and is scheduled to be onstream in 2016.

Maersk will be handling the subsea activities on the two fields - a manifold on each with one well on the former and up to three on the latter - which will linked to the host by a 25km pipeline system.

Talisman is responsible for the topside modifications at Clyde which will include a new 1,600t cantilevered process module with mercury removal capability and a significant amount of brownfield work on the existing facilities there.

Peak production from the two fields will be 18,000b/d and 0.6mcm/d. Reserves are about 50mmbbls and 3bcm.

This is all rather small potatoes compared with Maersk’s big upcoming Central North Sea gas development at CULZEAN - pronounced ‘culleen’ in Scotland – which when it comes onstream will provide 5% of UK gas consumption, according to Maersk.

The development concept for this important project will be either a full processing three-platform complex or a partial processing two-platform tieback with a multiphase export pipeline. Sanction is not due until 2015 with first gas in 2019.

While on gas, also in the offing is what is known as QUAD 9 BLOWDOWN which will see production of the gas cap at Griffin in the post-oil period which still remains several years off.

Apache liked its results at Bacchus so much it is happily looking at its next subsea gas development at AVIAT (29/16) which is 22.5km east of Forties A. Also on the cards is some subsea renewal work around the recently acquired Beryl complex including a new umbilical for Buckland. This will be tendered for in the new year.

If you are looking for some offshore decom action, number three single point mooring at Forties is offline and Apache is looking at both removing the old spm and installing an alternative offloading system.

Moving away from the operators for a moment, it is a good time to be a provider of FORGED COMPONENTS.

At least one supplier told SEN that his company i s just so busy, it hardly knows which way to move. It is currently providing parts for specialist riser systems, wyes and, soon, housing for subsea pumping systems.

What happens when partners on fields say different things. Who do you believe? Our North Sea man reported this week that Norske Shell is saying not happy things about LINNORM (see below) after poor results of a nearby wildcat which was meant to bolster reserves. Nonetheless partner Total is saying that the field is in the FEED stage with first gas expected in 2017.

BP has named its Schiehallion fpso GLEN LYON...Talisman is due to spend $7bn in the North Sea in the next three years, but further ahead in its timeline is life extension work at Ross-Blake, Buchan and, even redevelopment at Tartan...Shell has two technology projects ongoing on integrity management of FLEXIBLES and end-of-life management of UMBILICALS...BG expects to begin tendering on its hp/ht JACKDAW (29/8) development in Q3 2014 ...Sanction of EnQuest’s big KRAKEN heavy oil floater project is due shortly, possibly as early as a week tomorrow (15 November).