Repsol Sinopec Shuts Down North Sea Platforms Due to Pipeline Repairs

Production at the Claymore offshore platform located in the UK North Sea has been temporarily shut down as the operator Repsol Sinopec Resources UK is working to repair a valve on the export pipeline from the platform to the onshore Flotta terminal in Scotland.

Oil and Gas People understands that the precise nature of the issue is a leak of hydraulic fluid – not oil – from the valve.

A spokesman for Repsol Sinopec Resources UK said: “We are carrying out repairs to a valve on the main export pipeline from Claymore to the Flotta terminal.

“This presents no threat to the integrity of the pipeline or risk of loss of hydrocarbon containment. However, production is currently shut down on Claymore and from the other platforms in the area that come over Claymore [Tartan and Golden Eagle].”

The spokesperson added: “The regulator has been kept fully informed of progress with the repair plan and we will provide further updates when they are available.”

The platforms affected are, in addition to Claymore itself, Tartan, which is also operated by Repsol Sinopec Resources UK, and Golden Eagle which is operated by CNOOC.

Under normal circumstances, Repsol Sinopec’s aggregate average daily production from Claymore and Tartan platforms is c.19,500 bbl.

The Flotta Terminal is located on the island of Flotta in the Orkney Islands just north of mainland Scotland.

Crude oil is imported to the Flotta terminal from several offshore installations through a 30” subsea pipeline. The pipeline is fed from the following Repsol Sinopec operated fields; Claymore, Scapa, Piper ‘B’, Tweedsmuir, Tartan, Highlander, Duart, Petronella, and Galley. The pipeline is also fed from CNOOC Nexen-operated Golden Eagle field.

The Claymore complex is located in block 14/19n of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf, about 161 km northeast of Aberdeen in the Central North Sea. It contains two fixed steel bridge-linked platforms, the Claymore Production Platform (CPP) and Claymore Accommodation Platform (CAP).

Repsol Sinopec recently said it had started working on projects across a number of its assets in the UK North Sea that should realize in the region of an additional 10 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), beginning later this year.

At the time of the announcement, which was made in April, activities were already underway to reinstate production from the Galley field. Production from this field was halted back in 2012 due to subsea pipeline failure. Furthermore, in the Flotta catchment area, reactivation of the drilling package on Claymore was nearing completion.