As the United Kingdom grapples with an expected increase in energy demand as winter approaches, one of the nation’s stalwarts of the energy sector, Shell, has recently begun gas production from the Victory Field, located approximately 47 km north-west of the Shetland Islands in the UK North Sea. The nation has seen an increased demand for reliable energy production that could strengthen the energy sector’s ability to provide energy to Britain’s citizens. Shell is one of the largest energy companies in the world with operations in every corner of the planet. Now, they have turned their attention to their home of operations.
Shell will lean on its vast portfolio of existing infrastructure to transport the essential gas to the UK grid
Shell has one of the largest energy portfolios in the world and has been operating for over 185 years. Taking into account its vast infrastructure and strategic partnerships, along with the end of the decade bringing in new challenges for the energy sector to reach decarbonization, the Victory Field is set to become an essential cog in the UK energy engine.
Gas from the Victory Field will be extracted via a single subsea well and connected to an existing pipeline network, which will then be transported to the Shetland Gas Plant. By using existing infrastructure, Shell can reduce operational costs associated with the project, exemplifying its operational expertise.
The gas will then be transported through the existing pipeline to the Scottish mainland at St Fergus near Peterhead, which will then be fed into the UK’s energy grid. Peak production at the Victory Field is expected to produce around 150 million standard cubic feet per day of gas at full capacity.
“”Gas fields like Victory play a crucial role in the UK’s energy security, and the country will rely on them for decades to come. They provide an essential fuel we need now, and act as a partner to intermittent renewables as we move through the energy transition. By developing fields like Victory next to existing infrastructure, we are making sure our production in the UK North Sea remains cost competitive and reduces operational emissions.” – Shell UK Upstream Senior Vice President, Simon Roddy
North Sea Midstream Partners has noted the successful delivery of gas from Victory Field
North Sea Midstream Partners has noted that it has successfully received the first delivery of gas from Shell through its vast pipeline network, further strengthening the UK’s energy independence ambitions. As Europe is planning to retrofit aging infrastructure with modern equipment, the Victory Field project exemplifies Shell’s commitment to increasing gas production in the United Kingdom.
“I congratulate Shell on delivering an exemplary project and first gas from the Victory field. NMSP’s infrastructure delivers high reliability and availability for all of our customers. We are delighted to support Shell in supplying gas to meet the UK’s demand.” – Angela Fletcher, Chief Executive Officer at North Sea Midstream Partners
The company noted that the accelerated timeline of the project means that most of the gas will be extracted by the end of the decade, which brings with it some new legal emission challenges.
The Victory Field gas project will strengthen the UK energy market for many years
The United Kingdom is facing a litany of issues related to the energy sector, including an increase in demand as winter approaches, as well as inflation, and the state of the global energy market means that the Victory Field gas project could become essential to the nation’s ambitions to reduce foreign imports of LNG. As the global midstream sector is set to see billions of dollars of investments over the next few years, the United Kingdom is set to become a regional leader in the gas sector for years to come.
