The Captain Field, operated by Texaco North Sea UK, is located 90 miles (145 kilometers) northeast of Aberdeen on Block 13/22a of the UK Continental Shelf. Texaco was 100% owner and operator, until Korea Captain Company Limited and Hanwha Energy acquired a shared 15% interest.

Captain was discovered in 1977 but wasn’t developed until 1995, when it was divided into three phases – A, B and C. The first phase of development came online in 1997, and it produces a heavy, sticky crude oil along with natural gas. The project cost a total of $800 million.

Field Development

The field development consisted of two platforms, a Bridge-Linked Platform, a Wellhead Protection Platform, and the Captain Floating Production Storage and Offloading vessel.

The field was drilled and developed by the well-head protection platform, which was part of the Captain A project, and from the field's subsea manifold, which was part of the Captain B project. Production from both is sent to the Captain FPSO, which provides treated water to re-inject for aquifer support.

Captain C project consisted of drilling two additional subsea wells tied-back to the platform via one production flowline. Development drilling of this phase commenced in December 2005, and it was performed by the Wellhead Protection Platform.

Bridge-Linked Platform/Wellhead Protection Platform

The jacket of the Bridge-linked platform is a four-legged vertical steel tower that was installed by Hereema’s heavy lift crane vessel, Thialf. The jacket is anchored to the seafloor by four 1,600-ton piles and serves as the base of the platform.

The drilling program consisted of 14 long-reach horizontal wells, employing innovative drilling and completion technology along with the first commercial deployment of gas-handling hydraulic submersible pumps, specially developed to handle the high gas content of the Captain B reservoir. The field also has features that enhance environmental performance, including waste heat recovery and gas export. Captain B was developed by a single 18-slot manifold connected via a suite of pipelines to a new process/utility platform.

The Captain Expansion Project facilities include a 5,500-ton topside deck and a 75-meter bridge, which links the Bridge Linked Platform (BLP) to the Wellhead Protector Platform. The facility was constructed by Kvaerner Oil & Gas Ltd. Completion of the project brought on stream an estimated 85,000 barrels of oil per day with a peak processing capacity of 100,000 bopd.

The subsea drilling and production center, in the eastern part of the field, contains crude oil and gas processing facilities and is linked to a suite of pipelines and an FPSO where crude oil is processed and stored. A shuttle tanker exports oil to Nigg Bay terminal, located in Cromarty Firth.

Production
The Captain field came online March 6, 1997, and reached 63,000 bopd mid-year. The initial phase was followed by two more phases, with each one increasing the field's daily production level.

Production from Captain B commenced December 27, 2000 and produced 60,000 bopd with a plateau rate of 85,000 bopd during 2001.

Production from Captain C commenced July 4, 2006, and produced 9,000 bopd, with peak production reaching 15,000 bopd.