Greater Buchan Area

Serica 30%, NEO Energy (Operator) 50%, Jersey Oil and Gas 20%

The GBA encompasses several discoveries and exploration prospects some 150 km north-east of Aberdeen in the Outer Moray Firth. The largest of these accumulations was developed as the Buchan oil field, with an estimated 22.7 mmboe of 2C resources net to Serica, and the potential for 10,000 boepd peak net production. It was discovered in 1974 and produced for over thirty years. The Buchan field ceased production in 2017 owing to the end of the useable life of the floating production facility. It is proposed to develop the Buchan Horst field through the drilling of new wells and the installation of new subsea infrastructure tied back to a Floating Production and Storage Offloading vessel (FPSO) being redeployed from the Western Isles fields. Oil will be offloaded from the FPSO by shuttle tanker.
 
The FPSO will undergo limited modifications before redeployment in order to be ‘electrification ready’ pending a suitable source of electrical power.
 
The draft Field Development Plan (FDP) for the project has been submitted to the NSTA. The development project would support an estimated 1,000 jobs in the UK and includes the possibility of powering the facilities from offshore wind to achieve UKCS leading low carbon emissions.

The viability of the project depends in large part on the future UKCS fiscal and regulatory regimes which are currently subject to government consultations.
 
There is scope for the FPSO to become a production hub for other oil discoveries in the GBA.