NAM Starts Up Gas Platform Early
Dutch gas producer NAM said September 24 that a small unmanned platform on its L13-F1 offshore gasfield in the southern North Sea has started up two months earlier than planned.
It said this was due to deployment of smart techniques and an innovative approach. All remote-controlled parts were tested while the platform was still at the onshore construction site, it noted. The three wells were connected during drilling. Normally, no other work takes place during drilling, but NAM said it was possible to connect the wells safely and also to prepare them for production.
Normally a mix of gas, sand and water is initially produced, which is typically flared. But in this instance, NAM said it removed the sand and water, and then returned the gas to the platform. "This way the first gas without flaring can go directly to Den Helder," said project manager Julius Ansenk, adding this saved money, time and was better for the environment. NAM also said the platform has solar panels and a wind turbine, so is self-sufficient, and during normal production consumes "no more than a small vacuum cleaner, about 700 watts." But it produces 1.3mn m3 /day (0.48bn m3/yr).
Antwerp-based heavy lift contractor Scaldis successfully installed the unmanned L13-F1 platform for NAM offshore the Netherlands in June 2017.
NAM, which is 50-50% owned by Shell and ExxonMobil, is the largest gas producer in the Netherlands. Its 2017 profits and turnover declined as output from its key onshore Groningen gas field was capped by the government, following a series of induced earth tremors in recent years that damaged homes and property; its closure will now be accelerated and occur no later than 2030.
The L13-F1 unmanned platform, courtesy of NAM