Shell starts up new facility in UK North Sea, restoring production from the Penguins field

Shell has resumed production at the Penguins field in the UK North Sea using a modern floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) facility. Shell operates the field with a 50% stake, while NEO Energy holds the remaining 50%. Previously, production was exported via the Brent Charlie platform, which ceased operations in 2021 and is undergoing decommissioning.

The field is expected to reach peak production of approximately 45,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), with an estimated discovered recoverable resource volume of around 100 million boe. While primarily an oil-producing field, Penguins will also generate enough natural gas to heat about 700,000 UK homes annually.

The new FPSO is designed to reduce operational emissions by around 30% compared to the Brent Charlie platform, potentially extending the field’s lifespan by up to 20 years.

"Today, the UK relies on imports to meet much of its oil and gas demand," said Zoë Yujnovich, Shell’s Integrated Gas and Upstream Director. "The Penguins field provides secure domestic energy production, and the FPSO demonstrates our commitment to competitive projects that create more value with lower emissions."

While oil from the field will be transported by tanker to refineries outside the UK, some of these refineries supply refined products like petrol and diesel back to the country due to its limited refining capacity.

Natural gas from Penguins will be transported through an existing pipeline to the St Fergus gas terminal in north-east Scotland, which feeds into the UK’s national gas network.

The redevelopment of the Penguins field included drilling additional wells, which are now tied back to the new FPSO. Situated in 165 meters (541 feet) of water, approximately 150 miles north-east of the Shetland Islands, the field was originally discovered in 1974 and previously produced oil and gas from 2003 to 2021.