# Minke, Orca, Sillimanite and Wingate gas fields

The Minke, Orca, Sillimanite and Wingate fields are natural gas reservoirs and gas production facilities in the southern North Sea; they are close to, or straddle, the United Kingdom / Netherlands median line. Natural gas, which is routed to the Netherlands, has been produced from the fields since 2007.

## The fields.

The Minke, Orca, Sillimanite and Wingate fields (UK Block 44) are located north of the Greater Markham Area gas fields (UK Block 49) which also straddles the UK / Netherlands median line.
Minke and Orca are named after species of whale, Sillimanite is named after a mineral. Details of the gas fields is summarised in the table.
Field data :
| Field name | Minke | Orca | Sillimanite | Wingate |
| Blocks | 44/24a (UK) D15 (Netherlands) | 44/24a, 44/29b, 44/30a (UK) D15b, D18a (Netherlands) | 44/19a (UK) D12A, D12B (Netherlands) | 44/24b (UK) |
| Year discovered | January 1993 | December 1993 | July 2015 | 2008 |
| Original licensee | Wintershall | RWE Dea UK | Wintershall Noordzee | Wintershall |
| Gas reservoir | Carboniferous | Carboniferous | Carboniferous | Westphalian B sand bodies |

## Development

The gas fields were developed by offshore platforms, subsea wellheads and pipelines. Details are summarised in the table.
Installations :
| Field | Minke | Orca | Sillimanite | Wingate |
| Block | 44/24a (UK) | D18a (Netherlands) | D12 (Netherlands) | 44/24b (UK) |
| Installation name | – | D18A-a | D12-B | Wingate |
| Installation type | Subsea wellhead | Fixed steel platform | Fixed steel platform | Fixed steel platform |
| Coordinates | 54° 15.1300’N 2° 44.5067’E | | | 54° 18.994’N 02° 37.176’E |
| Installed | 2007 | 2013 | 2020 | 2011 |
| Water depth, metres | 32 | 54.3 | 41.5 | 29 |
| Substructure weight, tonnes | 26.75 | | | 900 |
| Topsides weight, tonnes | – | 1,240 | 4 | 950 |
| No. of legs | – | 4 | – | 4 |
| No. of Wells | 1 | 3 | | |
| Gas export to | D15-FA | D15-FA | D15-FA | D15-FA |
| Export pipeline length, diameter | 3.7 km (UK) + 11.2 km (Netherlands), 8-inch | 20 km, 8-inch | 10 km | 20.56 km, 12-inch |
| Pipeline number (gas) | PL2401 | | | PL2850 |
| Control umbilical/ methanol supply | From D15-FA | – | | Methanol from D15-FA |
| Umbilical length, diameter | 14.9 km, 90.6mm | – | | 20.56 km, 2-inch |
| Umbilical/Pipeline number (methanol) | PLU2402 | – | | PL2851 |

## Production

Gas production from the fields is summarised below.
Gas production :
| Field | Minke | Orca | Sillimanite | Wingate |
| Operator | GDF Britain then Neptune Energy | GDF SUEZ E&P | Wintershall Noordzee | Wintershall Noordzee |
| Start of production | June 2007 | 2013 | 2020 | 2011 |
| Peak flow, million cubic metres/y | 133 | 129 | | 793 |
| Year of peak flow | 2007 | 2014 | | 2012 |
| Cumulative production to end of 2014, million cubic metres | 150 | | | 1,321 |
| Status | Production ceased 2010 | Operational | Operational | Operational |
Production from the Minke field in mcm was:
Production from the Orca field in mcm was:
Production from the Wingate field in mcm was:

## Decommissioning.

Neptune Energy submitted a Decommissioning Programme for Minke to the UK Oil and Gas Authority in 2019.