Subsea trees expected to be in demand

Global subsea tree demand for the remainder of the year is forecast to be bolstered by two North Sea developments.

Westwood Global Energy Group has tipped Siccar Point’s Cambo and Repsol Sinopec Resource UK’s (RSRUK) Tain projects as “key upcoming subsea tree contract awards to watch” in Q3 2021.

The two fields are among a total of five developments that will account for 37 subsea trees.

The other three developments are Shell’s Whale and Crux, in the US and Australia respectively, and TPAO’s Sakarya in Turkey.

Subsea trees are placed at the wellhead of a field where they monitor and control production of hydrocarbons.

Located West of Shetland, Cambo is being developed by Siccar Point, which operates the field with a 70% stake, and Shell, which holds the remaining 30%.

Under plans, the pair aim to deliver around 150-170 million barrels of oil in the first phase.

But whether Cambo comes to fruition or not remains to be seen amid increasing opposition to the oil field.

In comparison, things are relatively quiet at the Tain development in the Outer Moray Firth.

It had been thought that RSRUK would make a final investment decision on the project in Q2 2021 but that has yet to happen.

RSRUK submitted the environmental statement for Tain last year – the field development plan has also been approved.

The company is intending to reactivate the “B” drilling rig on the Piper platform, 120 miles north-east of Aberdeen, before drilling two infill production wells.