§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy how he interprets the trend of production platform development in the North Sea; and to what extent he anticipates that operators will adopt subsea completions.
§ Dr. J. Dickson MabonSeveral orders may be placed in 1977–78 for steel jackets and steel floating structures. The prospects for concrete structures are much less promising, though there are cases where operators are currently evaluating both steel and concrete. Operators are also assessing the technical and cost aspects of floating production systems and subsea completions, the use of which could increase as technology advances. Subsea completions can be used in conjunction with a fixed platform to reach otherwise inaccessible areas of the field under development. Whether at present a sub-sea system alone could be used to exploit a major reservoir is more doubtful.