Alwyn discovered

A total of five fields fall within the area – Alwyn North, Dunbar, Ellon, Grant and Nuggets. Drilling began in 1971. Dunbar, Ellon and Grant were discovered within a few years, but were not regarded as commercial at the time.

Alwyn North, an oil and gas field north of Frigg, was discovered by the Drillmaster rig in June 1975. This permitted a collective development for the whole area. Alwyn North offers a good example of how technical progress has made it possible to exploit small and previously unprofitable fields by using the infrastructure installed as part of bigger developments.

Dunbar, which lies 22 kilometres south of Alwyn, was discovered in 1973 and came on stream in 1994. That also permitted the development of the Ellon and Grant satellites, which had been found in 1973 and 1977 respectively. They are produced through subsea installations located nine kilometres from Dunbar and tied back to the platform by flowlines and umbilicals. Ellon came on stream in 1994 and Grant four years later.

Nugget lies 20 kilometres south of Dunbar and became operational between 2001 and 2003. This field has been developed with subsea installations tied back directly by pipeline to Alwyn North but controlled from Dunbar.