Third Sillimanite South Well Brought Onstream Third Sillimanite South Well
Wintershall Noordzee B.V. (a joint venture between Wintershall Dea and Gazprom EP International) brought the D12-B3, a Sillimanite South well, onstream. It had been successfully converted from an exploration well to a production asset. It is the third well drilled in sequence after the two Sillimanite Unit field development wells were successfully brought into production in 2020. Drilling was completed in late October 2020, followed by precommissioning activities.
Sillimanite is a unitized gas field discovered in June 2015. It lies on the continental shelf in the UK and Dutch sectors of the North Sea, approximately 200 km away from the coast (Den Helder). Natural gas is extracted from carboniferous sand reservoirs at a depth of 3,700 meters below sea level. Production started in February 2020 when the first development well came onstream, while the second was put into production later in June that year. The produced gas is transported via a 12-km pipeline located in the Dutch territorial waters from where it is delivered via the NGT (Noordgastransport B.V.) pipeline to the inshore transportation network. The new Sillimanite South field lies within the boundaries of the D-12a block in the vicinity of the Sillimanite Unit field, both merging to form an intertwined production system.
Gazprom EP International is the Gazprom Group’s upstream operator outside the Russian Federation. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Today, Gazprom EP International operates in dozens of counties across three continents and is involved in more than 20 assets/projects of varying magnitude. The key areas of focus include managing upstream assets outside the Russian Federation; searching, evaluating, and acquiring new petroleum assets in the world's major oil and gas regions; and representing Gazprom before foreign private and state-owned petroleum companies.
Wintershall Noordzee B.V.
With headquarters in Rijswijk, the Netherlands, Wintershall Noordzee B.V. was founded in 1965. Wintershall Noordzee B.V. is a 50:50 joint venture between Gazprom EP International and Wintershall Holding GmbH. Listed among the larger gas producers on the Dutch sea shelf, Wintershall Noordzee operates 15 producing offshore platforms and 4 producing subsea units in the Dutch, UK, German and Danish sectors of the North Sea.
Wintershall Dea
Wintershall Dea is Europe’s leading independent natural gas and oil company with more than 120 years of experience as an operator and project partner along the entire E&P value chain. The company with German roots and headquarters in Kassel and Hamburg explores for and produces gas and oil in 13 countries worldwide in an efficient and responsible manner. With activities in Europe, Russia, Latin America and the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa), Wintershall Dea has a global upstream portfolio and, with its participation in natural gas transport, is also active in the midstream business.
Wintershall Dea was formed from the merger of Wintershall Holding GmbH and DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, in 2019. Today, the company employs around 2,800 people worldwide from over 60 nations.