Servelec Controls delivers vital safety systems for Apache’s innovative Garten development
In March 2018 the Apache Corporation announced it had made the 10 million barrel Garten discovery in the Beryl area of the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), reinforcing a renewed confidence in the UKCS as a producer. By May, the US-based oil company had determined viability and by November 2018 the discovery well was placed on production.
The achievement of first oil from Garten after just eight months is testament to Apache’s innovative approach and the decision to utilise existing subsea infrastructure, which reduced risk, time and cost.
In order to protect workers, the environment and both the existing plant and the new plant required to safely produce from Garten, Servelec Controls developed the existing Fire & Gas Safety System into a newer, larger, more resilient safety system. However, thanks to the ambitious timescales of the Garten development, the independent systems integrator was given just 10 weeks to complete its part of the project.
The high quality and schedule expectations on this project are nothing new to Servelec Controls, a company that develops and integrates mission-critical systems for national infrastructure whilst minimising risk in hazardous and volatile industries, and which prides itself on its flexibility and capacity to meet client demands.
Chris Stones, Sales Director for Servelec Controls explained: “Whilst the pace of the development was ambitious, Servelec Controls has the capability to match the tight timescales and the commitment to deliver, as we have done consistently over our longstanding relationship with Apache.
“Our experienced engineers are intimately knowledgeable with a wide range of control and safety systems and we were able to commit the necessary resource to deliver this Fire & Gas System expansion within Apache’s tight timescales and to the high standards they expected.”
As a long-standing supplier, Servelec Controls has built a strong relationship with Apache over the last 15 years, completing numerous projects and providing resilience through a support contract covering many of Apache’s UK assets. This gave Apache the confidence to rely upon Servelec to help deliver the Garten project.
Kevin Duncan, Facilities Projects Manager at Apache North Sea commented: “Servelec Controls has consistently delivered quality solutions within agreed timescales and project plans. The Garten development is set to deliver significant production without the long cycle time of large scale projects, and we trust Servelec’s ability to match Apache’s innovation and ambition.”
Just four miles south of the Beryl Alpha platform (pictured) the Garten discovery lies around 155 miles north east of Aberdeen, and demonstrates a hugely positive future for UK upstream industry and UK business alike.
Servelec Controls is a leading integrator of bespoke mission critical systems, which includes functional safety systems such as this Fire & Gas System expansion, for demanding and hazardous industries including the Oil and Gas sector.