Shell UK announced September 30th the start of production from the Victory gas field in the UK North Sea, approx. 47 km north-west of the Shetland Islands (Shell 100% owner and operator). The field will help to maintain domestically produced gas for Britain’s homes, businesses and power generation.
Gas will be extracted via a single subsea well and will be connected to an existing pipeline network and transported to the Shetland Gas Plant. Using existing infrastructure helps to reduce operational emissions.
From there it will be piped to the Scottish mainland at St Fergus near Peterhead, where it will be fed into the national gas network.
Peak production is estimated at around 150 million standard cubic feet per day of gas (approx. 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day) at full capacity, which is enough gas to heat almost 900,000 homes per year. Most of the field’s recoverable gas is expected to be extracted by the end of the decade.
According to the UK regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, production of gas has declined by 10% in the last year and 61% of the UK’s gas supply in 2024 was imported (PDF).
Victory will help to reduce the UK's reliance on imports from overseas at a time when older gas fields are reaching the end of their production.
'Gas fields like Victory play a crucial role in the UK’s energy security, and the country will rely on them for decades to come. They provide an essential fuel we need now, and act as a partner to intermittent renewables as we move through the energy transition,' Shell UK Upstream Senior Vice President, Simon Roddy said. 'By developing fields like Victory next to existing infrastructure, we are making sure our production in the UK North Sea remains cost competitive and reduces operational emissions.'
Victory will transfer to the new independent joint venture, Adura, which will be jointly owned by Shell (50%) and Equinor (50%).
Background
- Shell announced FID of Victory on 17 January 2024.
- Work continues towards securing regulatory approvals for the creation of Adura, which is anticipated by the end of 2025.
- The estimated peak production and current estimated recoverable resources presented above are 100% total gross figures.
- Victory contributes to Shell’s Capital Market Day 2025 commitment to deliver upstream and integrated gas projects coming on stream between 2025 to 2030 with a total peak production of more than 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
Source: Shell UK
