First gas from Atlantic and Cromarty North Sea Reaches UK

BG Group and Amerada Hess today announced that first gas has flowed from their jointly developed Atlantic and Cromarty fields in the Outer Moray Firth to the newly expanded ExxonMobil SAGE terminal at St Fergus.

The successful completion of this project, which only received DTI sanction in December 2003, is expected to achieve a plateau rate of 220 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd).

Mark Carne, BG Executive Vice President and Managing Director for Europe and Central Asia, said: "The successful development of the Atlantic and Cromarty fields demonstrates BG's ability to commercialise discoveries and maximise the recovery of hydrocarbons from the UKCS wherever possible.

"At a time of rising energy costs and increasing demand for gas it is essential that we make the most of our indigenous supplies. I am delighted that today we have delivered a new development that will make a valuable contribution to the UK's energy needs."

Robert Olsen, Chairman and Production Director, ExxonMobil International Limited said: "We are pleased with the start-up of the Atlantic and Cromarty fields. Attracting such third party processing to the SAGE terminal at St Fergus has increased the utilisation of existing infrastructure. Production from the new development will provide an important contribution to UK gas supplies."

Atlantic and Cromarty Fields

BG is the Atlantic field operator (75%) with Amerada Hess (25%)
Amerada Hess is the Cromarty field operator (90%) with BG (10%)

The fields lie 12.5 kilometres apart, approximately 80 kilometres north east of St Fergus in the Outer Moray Firth. The Atlantic field was discovered in 1997 and lies in licence block 14/26a. The Cromarty field was discovered in 1986 and lies in licence block 13/30a.

The gas will be fed to the SAGE terminal for processing via the longest direct to shore sub-sea tie-back constructed in the UK North Sea. The SAGE St Fergus terminal is operated by Mobil North Sea Limited (an ExxonMobil subsidiary). Once processed the gas will be fed into the National Transmission System.

The sub-sea facilities will be operated remotely from the control room at the St Fergus SAGE terminal via a satellite link to the Shell operated Goldeneye platform, and then via a 32 km sub-sea electro-hydraulic umbilical to the Atlantic and Cromarty fields.

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Posted 05/06/06

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