Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) will transform its Eider platform in the North Sea to a utility platform, as part of a bid to extend the life of its fields in the northern segment of the maturing oil and gas basin.
The conversion will see the platform, which is no longer economically viable as a production platform, will provide power, chemical and system support for production from the wider Otter field, the Abu Dhabi-listed company said in a statement on Thursday.
All significant hydrocarbons are due to be removed from the Eider wells by the end of the year. The company said the transformation to a utility platform will result in a reduced headcount at the facility, but that it is "committed to redeploy all Taqa staff" elsewhere in its business.
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“The operating model for Eider in its new role is focused on supporting reliable operations at reduced expenditure levels and ultimately on securing a safe and successful future for Taqa's northern North Sea business,” said Donald Taylor, Taqa Europe’s managing director.
The crash in oil prices since 2014 has raised questions over the future of the North Sea region as an oil and gas region, as many of its more established fields reach maturity levels.
But the recent uptick in prices, together with a sharp fall in costs, has improved the region’s competitiveness.
Royal Dutch Shell earlier this month approved the redevelopment of the Penguins field at the projected cost of over US$1 billion. The project, to be developed in conjunction with ExxonMobil, is Shell’s first significant North Sea development in over six years.
