The Breagh offshore gas field
The Breagh gas field is the largest field development project under our operatorship in the United Kingdom at present and also one of the largest natural gas fields under development in the entire southern British North Sea.
Breagh is located in the southern North Sea, 65 kilometres off the north-eastern coast of England (UKCS blocks 42/12a and 42/13a). In 2009, DEA acquired the majority holding of 70% – and in October 2013 we began producing gas from the field.
"Breagh is very important for DEA’s growth targets as the field will make a substantial contribution towards boosting DEA’s gas production."
Thomas Rappuhn, Chief Executive Officer
The key stages of this success story:
| 27 August 2009: Takeover of a majority holding of 70% | DEA takes over a holding of 70% and becomes operator of the Breagh gas field. Its partner Sterling Resources Ltd. retains a stake of 30%. The assumed resources of Breagh are classified as substantial, and the Company is optimistic that the production from this field will make a significant contribution to Group production. |
29 September 2010: Agreement reached to process Breagh natural gas | Conclusion of the agreements on the processing of the gas to be produced from the Breagh field in future represents an important step on the way to starting gas production. The gas is to be processed in the treatment facilities on the coast of northern England at Teesside and then fed into the British grid and supplied to local consumers. |
| 26 November 2010: Construction of a 100-kilometre offshore pipeline | DEA commissions the technical planning and construction of an offshore pipeline. From the Breagh Alpha platform located about 100 kilometres east of Teesside, the gas produced is to be flowed via a 20-inch pipeline (diameter: 51 cm) to the mainland at Coatham Sands/Redcar. From there, the natural gas will be moved overland to the Teesside gas treatment plant via an 11-kilometre pipeline. |
| 4 March 2011: Appraisal well successful. Expectations exceeded. | Appraisal well 42/13a-6, which terminated a depth of 2,628 metres, confirmed the original assumptions concerning the gas-containing structure in the east of the field and even exceeded expectations regarding the volume of gas. |
| 25 July 2011: Go-ahead for field development work | In July 2011 we come a great deal closer towards our objective of a timely production start: DEA receives approval from the British Energy Ministry for the field development plan. |
| 30 September 2011: Sail-away: from Zwijndrecht into the British North Sea | Breagh is on target. The platform and its 85 metre high supporting structure which, including the substructure, superstructures on deck and foundation piles, weigh about 5,400 tons, was constructed by the Heerema Fabrication Group in Zwijndrecht, Netherlands. At the end of September the time has come: the platform is towed for offshore installation into the southern British North Sea. |
| 24 October 2011: Breagh platform successfully installed in the North Sea | 65 kilometres off the north-eastern coast of England and at a water depth of 62 metres, the platform is installed in the North Sea with the aid of a heavy duty transport and crane vessel. A further key milestone for the Breagh field development project. Zoom Breagh Alpha deck being installed |
| 16 May 2012: Ready, steady, go! Drilling work begins on the field development well | Drilling of the field development well begins in mid-2012 with the Ensco 70 drilling rig. In total, DEA plans to drill initially seven production wells in phase 1 of the field development project. |
| 14 October 2013: Gas production begins | DEA starts its production from the Breagh field in autumn of 2013, only just over two years after approval by the British authorities. With an initial flow rate of 2.75 million cubic metres of gas per day, the first three wells are brought into production. |
Overview
| Operator | RWE Dea UK (70%) |
| Partner | Sterling Resources UK (30 %) |
| Licenses | Blocks 42/13a and 42/12a |
| Geography | UK sector of the Southern North Sea, about 65 kilometres off the coast of north east England |
| Estimated total reserves | 19.8 billion m³ of gas |
| Expected average annual production for the years 2014 to 2018 | 1.1 billion m³ of gas |
| Geology | Located on the southern margin of the Dogger Shelf Carboniferous Yoredale formation Field is formed by a large, 10 kilometre by 10 kilometre four way dip closure under the Permian Zechstein formation The crest of the structure is at 2,200 metres below sea level |
| Production start | 14 October 2013 |
