Repsol Sinopec produces first gas from Cayley field in Montrose area

First gas has been delivered on schedule from the Cayley field, the third and final new discovery to be brought on stream during the major redevelopment of the Montrose Area in the Central North Sea operated by Repsol Sinopec Resources UK.

Repsol Sinopec has a 58.97% working interest and Marubeni Oil & Gas (U.K.) Limited is the sole partner.

Gross incremental production from Cayley, Godwin and Shaw, brought onstream in May, is expected to peak at 40,000 boepd. This will extend the life of the Montrose facilities, which were installed in 1976, to beyond 2030, the operator said on Wednesday.

The Montrose Area Redevelopment (MAR) is a major capital project that significantly enhances the long term Montrose Area infrastructure. The project incorporates the development of three new fields – Godwin, Cayley and Shaw – and a new bridge-linked production platform (BLP) connected to the Montrose Alpha to provide additional process and plant support facilities.

The Godwin field has already been developed via an extended reach well from the Arbroath platform. The Cayley and Shaw fields have been developed as subsea tie-backs to the BLP. According to Repsol Sinopec, the project overall is expected to unlock up to 100 million boe of additional production, including through life extension of legacy fields.

Brian Winton, General Manager, Montrose and Arbroath said: “Safe and successful delivery of these fields is a great achievement for Repsol Sinopec and underlines the transformation of our business. With the support of our shareholders and our partner Marubeni we have overcome significant technical and legacy challenges to safely maximize economic recovery from these historic fields and facilities. We can now look forward to hub production from Montrose for another 15 years.”