The Clipper gas field is a major natural gas reservoir and gas production facility in the UK sector of the southern North Sea. The field is located about 73 km north-north-east of Bacton, Norfolk; the Clipper production facility has operated since 1990.
The fields The Clipper field was discovered by Shell in March 1968 in Block 48/19a, part of the Sole Pit area. The gas reservoir is a Lower Permian Leman Sandstone Formation. The field is jointly owned by ESSO E&P UK Ltd (50 %) and Shell UK Ltd (50 %). The field was anticipated to have recoverable reserves of 22.5 billion cubic metres (bcm).
In addition to Clipper, the adjacent fields produced natural gas to the Clipper facility. +Clipper area fieldsFieldBlockDate discoveredReserves, bcm (note 1)Original ownerOwner / operator in 2014Clipper48/19aMarch 196822.5Shell/ExxonShellBarque48/13aDecember 196637.3Shell/ExxonShellBarque South48/13aDecember 19661.0Shell/ExxonShellGalleon48/14, 48/19a, 48/20aDecember 197540.40Shell/ExxonShellCutter49/9aShell/ExxonShellCarrack49/14b, 49/15a15.0Shell/ExxonShellSkiff48/20aShell/ExxonShellClipper South48/19a198213.4RWE Dea, Fairfield, Bayern GasIneos, Spirit Energy note 1. Reserves are in billion cubic metres (bcm).
The Clipper, Barque, Galleon, Cutter, Carrack, and Skiff fields are named after sailing vessels.
Clipper South was owned by RWE Dea UK (50%), Fairfield Energy (25%), and Bayern Gas (25%). RWE Dea and Fairfield sold their interests to Ineos in 2015. The field is owned by Ineos and Spirit Energy.
Development The Clipper field was developed by Shell as a central 3-platform bridge linked complex.Clipper fact sheet Shell 2021 Three further bridge-linked platforms were added later. In addition to its own gas, Clipper was designed to be a central hub to receive and process well fluids from the surrounding installations. Processed gas was transmitted by pipeline from Clipper to the Bacton Gas Terminal, Norfolk. The main design parameters of the Clipper area installations are summarized in the table. +Clipper area installationsInstallation nameBlockCoordinatesFunctionWater depth, metresTypeProduction toClipper PW48/19a53.459167 1.731944Wellhead26Fixed steelBacton via 45 mile 24” pipelineClipper PT53.460278 1.732222ProductionFixed steelClipper PC53.537633 1.870256CompressionFixed steelClipper PMMetering, compressionFixed steelClipper PRRisersFixed steelClipper PHAccommodationBarque PB48/13a53.601667 1.526694Wellhead and production22Fixed steelClipper via 15 mile 16” pipelineBarque PL48/13a53.571743 1.638452Wellhead and production23Fixed steelGalleon PM48/1953.535667 1.876458Wellhead and production28Fixed steelClipperGalleon PN48/2053.569622 1.921967Wellhead and production28Fixed steelCutter QC49/9a53.695609 2.623801Wellhead and production35Fixed steelCarrack QACarrack QA49/1453.579560 2.792291Wellhead and production30Fixed steelClipperCarrack Manifold49/14b53.706317 2.867689Manifold31SubseaCarrack QACarack East WHPS49/15a53.673789 3.027539Wellhead31SubseaCarrack ManifoldCarrack West WHPS49/14b53.743256 2.842561Wellhead29SubseaCarrack ManifoldSkiff PS48/20a53.589292 1.891197Wellhead and production26Fixed steelClipperClipper South48/19a53.446309 1.797583Wellhead and productionFixed steelClipper Gas from Clipper South was originally routed to the ConocoPhillips LOGGS installation thence to Theddlethorpe gas terminal (TGT). When TGT closed in August 2018 a new pipeline was installed to route gas from Clipper South to Clipper.
As part of the Clipper development new pipeline reception facilities and process plant was installed at the Shell terminal at the Bacton gas terminal.
Gas production Production facilities on the Clipper complex include bulk liquid removal, 5 centrifugal two-stage compression with a capacity of 2 x 200 MMSCFD (million standard cubic feet per day).
Gas production from Clipper and the connected fields is summarised in the table, data includes the peak rate and the cumulative production over the period 1990 to 2014. +Gas ProductionNameProduction startPeak flow, mcm/yPeak yearCumulative production to 2014Clipper19901,109199213,876Barque19902,244199723,067Barque South201416Galleon19941,501199719,887Cutter200646620082,410Carrack20031,22020046,262Skiff20001,33920037,828Clipper South20125872013385
See also
Bacton gas terminal List of oil and gas fields of the North Sea West Sole gas field Lincolnshire Offshore Gas Gathering System
References