Status: In production
First oil: 12 November 2005
Field location: Grand Banks, 350 km (217 mi) east of St John’s, NL
Discovery date: 1984
Operator: Husky Oil Operations Ltd
Project participants:
- Husky Energy (72.5%)
- Petro-Canada (27.5%)
In December 2007 a Framework Agreement was reached which will provide a 5% equity position in the White Rose satellite expansion for the province’s energy corporation.
Water depth: 125 m (410 ft)
Discovered recoverable resources:
South White Rose: Oil – 200-250 million bbl (operator estimate)
Additional potential resources*:
Natural Gas – 2.7 tcf
Natural Gas Liquids – 96 million bbls
Oil – 80 million bbl
*Source: CNLOPB
Project scope:
- The White Rose Oilfield Development Application was approved by the regulators in December 2001 and was sanctioned by the owners in March 2002. Initial development has focused on the South Avalon oil pool which is being developed using an 21-well system tied back to a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel through a subsea production system. The SeaRose FPSO achieved first oil on November 12, 2005. Key activities for 2009 will include:
• Progressing development of the North Amethyst satellite tieback
• Submission of a development application for the West White Rose satellite tieback
• Carrying out facilities modifications to the SeaRose FPSO to accommodate production from subsea tiebacks.
• Maintaining a focus on strong safety and environmental performance
In 2011, Husky Energy continued to progress its slimmed-down wellhead GBS for the White Rose oil field. The company announced Dec. 14, 2011 that four engineering firms are in the running for the pre-FEED and FEED contract.
They are: Arup; Grand Banks Contractors, which includes Doris Conpro, the St. John’s subsidiary of Paris-based Doris Engineering that designed and built the Hibernia GBS; Kvaerner Newfoundland, a subsidiary of the Norwegian-based Kvaerner Corp. and partner in the consortium contracted to design and build the Hebron GBS; and SNC-Lavalin.
Bids are due Jan. 20 for the wellhead GBS front-end engineering and design contract. Husky expects to award the pre-FEED and FEED contract “very early” in 2012, according to Paul McCloskey, vice-president
of East Coast operations. Speaking at Husky’s investor day held Dec. 5, McCloskey said the company
has targeted 2016 to start production from the wellhead GBS.
The company continues to assess the resource base and sees the West White Rose satellite as a “significant underpinning of that wellhead platform concept,” McCloskey told investors. “By about the middle of next year we should be in an even better position to determine that we have a strong resource base. That being the case, we’re into execution.” Report 2011 Husky started production from West White Rose on Sept. 5. That oil producer (E-18-10) was the first of two wells the company will use to gather production information and determine how to fully develop the satellite field.
Husky was in the completions phase of the second well, a water-injector (E-18-11) on Nov. 25, when the offshore supply ship Maersk Detector collided with the drill rig GSF Grand Banks. The E-18-11 well was drilled to total depth, cemented and cased. It’s currently plugged and work has been suspended until the rig is repaired.
The collision resulted in a five-metre gash above the water line in one of the rig’s eight columns. The GSF Grand Banks is undergoing repairs at the Irving Shipbuilding yard in Halifax, N.S., where it arrived under tow Dec. 11. The rig will remain at the yard for about 60 days as part of its previously scheduled five-year survey for maintenance and certifications. Husky expects the GSF Grand Banks to return to the Jeanne d’Arc Basin by late February, including towing time to the oil field.
Husky is also in the hunt for three drill rigs. It issued an EOI for one rig to work in the NL offshore and a pair of rigs to drill wells off Greenland. Husky holds two exploration licences in West Disko off Greenland and has an interest in a third licence operated by ExxonMobil. In 2013, a Husky spokeswoman said, the company is aiming to drill an exploration well in each of the two licences it operates.
The company spokeswoman also said the drill rig EOI is part of Husky’s ongoing assessment of the rig market and efforts to secure long-term rig capacity. The GSF Grand Banks contract ends January 2013, according to an October fl eet update by rig owner Transocean. There is an option to extend the contract.
The SeaRose floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel is scheduled to leave the White Rose field in 2012 for 125 days in dry dock. ExxonMobil has issued a second EOI for the drilling equipment module. In its 2008 agreement with the provincial government, the company committed to build the living quarters, drilling support and drilling equipment modules in the province, if there was sufficient local labour and yard capacity.
Production rate: 115,000 bpd (avg annual)
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