Alwyn East Field is located in the Northern North Sea in United Kingdom Continental Shelf (UKCS). The project was planned to be developed as part of the life-extension strategy in the Alwyn Area.
French energy company TotalEnergies, through its wholly owned subsidiary TotalEnergies E&P UK (TEPUK), is progressing with the development of the Alwyn East Field project.
In September 2021, the company submitted the environmental statement (ES) for approval to the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED). TEPUK secured the final UK government approval to proceed with the Alwyn East development in September 2023.
Background
The Alwyn Area is located 440km north-east of Aberdeen. The area comprises eight producing fields- Alwyn North, Dunbar, Ellon, Grant, Forvie North, Jura, Islay and Northern Underwater Gas Gathering Export and Treatment System (NUGGETS).
It first became onstream in November 1987.
The Alwyn North platform in UKCS Block 3/9a operates as the hub and support centre for these fields. The platform is situated around 136km east of Shetland and 9km from the UK/Norwegian median line.
Alwyn East development was planned to improve production from the region. The field is expected to have a production life of up to 2040.
Alwyn East Field Location
The Alwyn East field is located in the Northern North Sea on the UKCS, within Blocks 3/04b, 3/04g, and 3/05a. The field is nearly 5.8km northeast of the Alwyn North platform.
Water depth in Alwyn area is around 130m.
Alwyn East Field Development Plan
The project involves drilling a new sidetrack well from the existing N43 wellbore using extended-reach drilling (ERD) techniques. This well is expected to reach a maximum vertical depth of 4,836m.
Rather than installing new subsea infrastructure, the field will utilise the existing facilities at the North Alwyn Alpha production platform. The new well will be directly connected to the platform’s processing system.
To accommodate the project, upgrades to the North Alwyn Alpha platform include installing a new top-drive system and variable frequency drive.
Alwyn North Platform
The Alwyn North platform acts as a key processing hub for the surrounding fields. It comprises two fixed steel jacket platforms—North Alwyn Alpha and North Alwyn Bravo—linked by a 72m bridge.
North Alwyn Alpha houses accommodation, drilling facilities, and utilities, while North Alwyn Bravo contains oil and gas processing infrastructure. Power for the field is generated by four gas turbine-driven generators on the Bravo platform, with a two-generator operation strategy in place to reduce emissions.
Transportation of Oil and Gas
Gas from Alwyn East is transported via the Frigg UK pipeline system (FUKA) to the St Fergus Terminal in Aberdeenshire. Oil is routed through the Brent System pipeline to the Cormorant Alpha platform before reaching the Sullom Voe Terminal (SVT) in Shetland.
Oil from Alwyn East is blended with production from other fields in the Alwyn Area and processed on the North Alwyn Bravo platform. Gas undergoes separation before being exported to St Fergus.
Contractors Involved
Xodus Group, an energy consultancy, was responsible for preparing the environmental statement for the Alwyn East Field development.
