Formerly known as Q7-FA, the Q10 gas field is located 20km from The Netherlands in shallow waters. It is one of the largest gas discoveries made in the country in the last 15 years.
The gas field lies on the Q7 and Q10-A Netherlands offshore exploration blocks, which were previously owned by Smart Energy Solutions (30%), PA Resources (30%) and Energie Beheer Nederland (EBN) (40%).
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Tulip Oil Holding’s subsidiary Tulip Oil Netherlands Offshore (Tulip Oil) acquired PA Resources’ interests in the blocks in January 2015. The Q7/Q10-A blocks are now jointly owned by Tulip Oil (60%) and EBN (40%).
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs awarded the production license for Q7/Q10-A blocks to Tulip Oil in July 2017. The final investment decision for development of the gas field was taken in January 2018.
The first gas from the field was achieved in February 2019, producing at a plateau rate of three million cubic metres a day. It is expected to support the Dutch economy, while offsetting the declining gas production from existing producing fields in Netherlands.
Q10 gas field discovery and appraisal
The Q10 gas field was discovered in 1973 by the exploration well Q7-1, which encountered gas in the strata of Rotliegend. The gas field is located on a structure named Zandvoort High, which is bounded by a dip closure in the northwest and southeast directions.
Tulip Oil acquired a 309km² 3D seismic map of the Q7-1 well area in 2010, which proved prospective reserves in the Q7/Q10-A blocks.
The Q10-6 appraisal/development well was subsequently drilled using the Paragon C20052 rig in July/August 2015.
Q10 gas field development
The Q10 gas field was developed using an unmanned offshore platform named Q10-A. The platform was tied-back using a pipeline to the TAQA-operated P15d platform located south-west of the Q10-A platform.
The Q10-A platform weighs 500t and features a 600t jacket. It was installed in water depths of 21m in December 2018.
A 42km-long pipeline was installed from Q10-A location to P15d platform June 2018. The pipeline was laid using the Lorelay or Fortitude trencher vessel.
The discovery well, Q10A-01, was discovered in 2015. Drilling of four other wells is being performed by BORR Drilling’s BORR rig, Prospector 1. The seabed was levelled to lay the pipeline and the ground was prepared to lay multiple umbilicals.
Tie-in spools were fabricated and installed at the Q10-A platform and P15-D processing platform. The installation of tie-in spools was diver-assisted at both the platforms.
Contractors involved
The engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) contract for the Q10-A platform was awarded to Heerema Fabrication Group (HFG). The contractual scope includes front-end engineering design studies (FEED) for the platform.
Allseas was awarded the EPCI contract to lay the pipeline tie-back for the Q10 gas field development. The contract also includes pre-engineering survey and detailed pipeline design.
Paragon Offshore was contracted to provide the Paragon C20052 drilling rig to drill the discovery wells at the field.
