Total’s Laggan Tormore project claimed the International Petroleum Technology Conference (IPTC) Excellence in Project Integration Award at the 10th IPTC in Bangkok, Thailand.
The IPTC Excellence in Project Integration Award highlights projects that have demonstrated distinction throughout the entire value chain, and are equivalent in value to at least USD 500 million. Past winners have included both international and national oil companies. Taken into account are projects that exemplify strong teamwork, solid geoscience knowledge, reservoir and production engineering expertise, outstanding facilities engineering practices, a strong commitment to health, safety, and the environment, and advocate innovative and people-oriented human resource policies and community programs. Previous award winners include the Qatargas Debottling project by Qatargas, the Independence Hub project by Anadarko Petroleum, Sakhalin-1 by Exxon Neftegas, Qatargas 2 by Qatargas, Parque das Conchas by Shell, Pazflor by Total, Perdido by Shell, RGX2 by RasGas, and CLOV by Total.
The pioneering GBP 3.5-billion Laggan Tormore development, offshore West of Shetland, unlocks the harsh Atlantic Margin play and opens up a new gas province for the United Kingdom. The project was executed using new technologies to overcome a harsh environment. Interesting innovations saw new methods of environmental protection deployed on a huge scale.
The Laggan and Tormore fields lie 140 km north-west of Shetland in water depths that descend rapidly from 120 m to more than 600 m. To address these challenging conditions, Total implemented the longest subsea-to-shore development ever seen in UK waters. The project now meets 8% of the UK’s daily gas requirements.
The project won against China National Petroleum Corporation’s (CNPC) Keshen development project. The Keshen gas field is characterized by fractured tight sandstone reservoirs, with the buried depth of 6500–8000 m and reservoir pressure of 116–128 MPa. Adopting an integrated exploration and development mode, CNPC has built an annual gas capacity of 5 BCM by the year 2015, with a total investment of RMB 11.8 billion.
A series of technologies applicable to gas development in complex mountain fronts were developed, covering reservoir description, well placing, fast drilling, well completion, and reservoir stimulation. The project opens up a new frontier for gas reservoir development, provides clean energy and more than 400 long-term job opportunities for the local residents, and creates significant economic and social benefits.
The 10th IPTC was held 14–16 November 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand. The event, which was hosted by PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP), attracted more than 3,700 industry professionals from more than 50 countries.
The IPTC is a collaborative effort among four industry societies: the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), the European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers (EAGE), the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG), and SPE. IPTC is a platform to promote knowledge sharing and scientific and technology dissemination on a global scale.
