# K14-K18 gas fields

The K14-K18 gas fields are significant natural gas producing areas in the Netherlands sector of the North Sea, about 120 km north west of Den Helder. These five contiguous fields started producing gas in 1977 and are still operational.

## The fields

The K14-K18 gas fields are located in the Southern North Sea. They extend over the Netherlands Offshore Blocks K14, K15, K16, K17 and K18. The gas reservoirs have the following properties:
K14-K18 field gas reservoir parameters :
| Block | K14 | K15-A | K15-B | K16 | K17 | K18-FB | K18 Golf |
| Producing horizon | Rotliegendes sandstone | Rotliegendes sandstone | Rotliegendes sandstone | Zechstein 3 carbonates | Slochteren Formation | Slochteren Formation | Rotliegendes sandstone |
| Depth, metres | 3,025 | 3,325 | 3,900 | 2,001 | 2,686 | 4,217 | 3,750 |
| Type of gas | | High calorific value (CV) | Low CV & 24% CO$_2$ | 38.19 MJ/m$^3$, 10.05 % nitrogen | 34.69 MJ/m$^3$, 10.6 % nitrogen | 35.8 MJ/m$^3$, 10.79 % nitrogen | |
| Recoverable reserves | 424 billion cubic feet | 353 billion cubic feet | 671 billion cubic feet | 0.5 billion m$^3$ | 2.3 billion m$^3$ | 0.5 to 1.0 billion m$^3$ | |
| Discovery | 1970 | 1974 | 1975 | 1987 | 1980 | 1992 | 2005 |
| Initial operator | Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij BV (NAM) | NAM | NAM | ELF Petroland (exploration) | NAM | Conoco (exploration) | Wintershall Noordzee BV |

## Development

The K14-K18 reservoirs were developed over an extended period by a number of offshore installations across the five Blocks.

### K14 and K15 installations

The initial installations in blocks K14 and K15 were:
K14 and K15 Field Initial Offshore Installations :
| Installation | K14-FA1 | K14-FA1-C | K15-FA1 | K15-FB1 |
| Function | Drilling, production, accommodation | Compression | Drilling, production | Drilling, production, accommodation |
| Type | Steel jacket | Steel jacket | Steel jacket | Steel jacket |
| Coordinates | 53°16’10”N 03°37’39”E | Bridge link to K14-FA1 | 53°14’53”N 03°59’41”E | 53°16’35”N 03°22’28”E |
| Water depth, metres | 26 | 26 | 27.4 | 26 |
| Designer | Crest / MarCon | De Groot | Shell / Crest | Crest |
| Jacket fabrication | De Groot | THC | De Groot | NAPM |
| Deck fabrication | De Groot | De Groot | De Groot | De Groot |
| Jacket weight, tonnes | 500 | ? | 1,245 | ? |
| Legs | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| Piles | 10 | 8 | 10 | 10 |
| Deck weight, tonnes | 940 | Deck 2,250; modules 3,750 | 1,300 | ? |
| Accommodation | 24 | 100 | 24 | 22 |
| Well slots | 9 | Nil | 6 | 9 |
| Production throughput | 7.4 million m$^3$/day | 600 MMSCFD | 7.4 million m$^3$/day | 10 million m$^3$/day |
| Installation | February 1977 | 1985 | December 1978 | 1982 |
Gas production from these platforms was to the following pipelines.
K14 and K15 pipelines :
| From | To | Length | Diameter | Notes |
| K14-FA1 | WGT line | 0.14 km | 24” | Sidetap |
| K15-FA | WGT line | 0.06 km | 24” | Sidetap |
| K15-FB | Callantsoog | 72 km | 24” | |

### K14, K15 and K17 installations

The fields were developed further from the mid-1980s through five satellite installations.
K14, K15 and K17 installations :
| Installation | K14-FB1 | K15-FC-1 | K15-FG-1 | K15-FK-1 | K17-FA-1 |
| Function | Satellite | Satellite | Satellite | Satellite | Satellite |
| Type | Steel jacket | Steel jacket | Steel jacket | Steel jacket | Monotower |
| Coordinates | 53.16084 3.31354 | 53.25382 3.76408 | 53.30723 3.94825 | 53.21879 3.92062 | 53.06473 3.53866 |
| Water depth, metres | 26.7 | 26.1 | 25 | 25.6 | 25.6 |
| Startup | 1985 | 1989 | 1990 | 2002 | 2005 |
Gas from the K14-FB1 installation is routed to the K14-FA1 installation. Gas from the K15 installations is routed to the K14-FA1 installation. Gas from the K17 Monotower is routed to the K14-FB1 installation.

### K18 installations

The K18 Golf gas field is a military restricted zone which necessitated development by subsea satellites.
K18 Golf Field installations :
| Installation | K18 G1 | K18 G2 | K18 G4 |
| Function | Satellite | Satellite | Satellite |
| Type | Subsea | Subsea | Subsea |
| Coordinates | 53.0923 3.5747 | 53.0923 3.5747 | 53.1023 3.5813 |
| Water depth, metres | 20.9 | 27.5 | 27.5 |
| Startup | 2011 | 2014 | 2014 |
The output projection was 375.7 million normal cubic meters per year. Gas is routed to the K14-FA1 installation.
The Kotter oil field is in Block K18, however there is no export route for the gas and the K18-FB gas accumulation has not been developed.

### K16 Field

The K16 Field is a stranded asset with no nearby gas transport infrastructure. The field has not been developed.