- Shell announces FID on Victory gas field 47 km NW of the Shetland Islands
- Victory field was discovered in 1977 by Texaco and acquired by Shell in 2022
- A single well will tie into existing infrastructure
- At its peak, Victory will produce gas for 900,000 homes per year
- Victory will help maintain domestic gas production
Shell UK has announced its final investment decision (FID) to develop the Victory gas field in the North Sea. The gas field was discovered nearly 50 years ago by Texaco, but remained undeveloped until now. Victory is one of many Shell projects, both renewable and non-renewable, aimed at enhancing their role in the UK energy system.
In November 2022, Shell completed the acquisition of Corallian Energy, and its single asset, the Victory license. Shell saw the potential of developing the field using existing infrastructure, leveraging its expertise in subsea technology and gas production.
The Victory field was discovered by Texaco in 1977, in Block 207/1a, 47 km north-west of the Shetland Islands, in water depths of about 150 meters. The field was appraised by Texaco, and Shell conducted a 3D seismic program in 1996. Victory field was awarded to Corallian Energy in 2016 during the UK Oil & Gas Authority’s 32nd offshore licensing round. Prior to the acquisition, Corallian had intended to drill the well in the summer of 2024, with first gas before year end.
The Victory development will consist of one subsea well, which will be tied into existing pipeline infrastructure in the Greater Laggan Area system, operated by TotalEnergies. The Greater Laggan Area comprises several gas fields west of Shetland, including Laggan, Tormore, Edradour and Glenlivet, which are connected by pipelines to the Shetland Gas Plant onshore.
The Victory project will require the construction of 16 km of new pipeline from the well to the existing pipeline network. The gas will be processed at the Shetland Gas Plant, before being piped to the UK mainland to enter the National Grid at St Fergus.
Shell expects the Victory field to come online in the middle of this decade and produce around 150 million cubic feet of gas per day at its peak. Most of the recoverable gas in the Victory field, around 180 billion cubic feet, is expected to be extracted by the end of the decade.
The addition of gas from the Victory project will reduce reliance on imported gas, helping to maintain domestically produced gas for heating Britain’s homes and businesses, as well as power generation. According to the regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority, only 38% of the UK’s 2022 gas consumption was domestically produced – the rest was imported. It is anticipated that the Victory field will produce enough gas to heat almost 900,000 homes per year at its peak.
This project will also support Shell’s ‘powering progress’ strategy to deliver more value with less emissions. Victory will tie into the closest pipeline, rather than building a brand new pipeline all the way to onshore facilities. This will keep construction costs to a minimum, and reduce operational emissions below many current UK North Sea gas fields.
“The UK North Sea is a critical national resource, providing a steady supply of the fuels people rely on today and strengthening the country’s energy security and resilience,” said Simon Roddy (Shell UK Upstream Senior Vice President). “Continued investment is required to sustain domestic production, which is declining faster than the UK’s demand for oil and gas.”