Forties field refurbishment

AMEC has been awarded two contracts by Apache North Sea as part of Apache’s multi-million pound investment in extending the life of the Forties oil and gas field.

According to AMEC, the Forties field was the first major oil and gas find in the Central North Sea 38 years ago, and its continued hydrocarbon production will be significantly reinforced by these projects.

One contract is for a front end engineering design (FEED) review and detailed design for the Forties Charlie deep gas lift compression project. This contract covers the addition of a new high-pressure gas lift compressor package into an existing module on Forties Charlie, together with a new produced water treatment package and vessel internals.

The second contract award covers the design, construction and commissioning of Phase One of the Forties field switchboard upgrade project, which is expected to take three years to complete.

The first phase of the project involves the replacement of all 3.3kV and 415V distribution switchboards and transformers on Forties Bravo. The 11kV switchboard will be refurbished with new circuit breakers and protection relays.

At their peak the contracts will provide employment for more than 150 people.