Clair Field, West of Shetland

The full-length paper details one of the newest producing fields in the North Sea, the West of Shetland development. Prestartup design and implementation challenges are described, as well as commissioning philosophy for the plant and chemical-injection facilities. Most of the full-length paper focuses on the first 6 months of production history, production-technology management, and how actual operation differed from the planned and designed specifications.

View a Synopsis of SPE 97772.

This article, written by Assistant Technology Editor Karen Bybee, contains highlights of paper SPE 97772, "Unlocking the Potential: A North Sea Heavy Oil Success Story," by J.J. Wylde, SPE, and G.D.M. Williams, SPE, Clariant Oil Services, and R.E. Cousins, BP plc, prepared for the 2005 SPE International Thermal Operations and Heavy Oil Symposium, Calgary, 1-3 November. The paper has not been peer reviewed.