Shell U.K. Limited (Shell UK) has taken a final investment decision (FID) on the Victory gas field in the UK North Sea, approximately 47 km north-west of the Shetland Islands. Once onstream, the field will help to maintain domestically produced gas for Britain’s homes, businesses and power generation. The development will feature a single subsea well which will be tied back to existing infrastructure of the Greater Laggan Area system, using a new 16 km pipeline.

“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 Shell UK Upstream Senior Vice President, Simon Roddy. “Continued investment is required to sustain domestic production, which is declining faster than the UK’s demand for oil and gas.”

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 the Victory field will come online in the middle of the decade and at its peak, produce enough gas to heat almost 900,000 homes per year. This is around 150 million standard cubic feet per day of gas (approximately 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day). Most of the field’s recoverable gas is expected to be extracted by the end of the decade.

Victory’s gas will be processed onshore at the Shetland Gas Plant before being piped to the UK mainland to enter the National Grid at St Fergus, where Shell UK is also helping develop the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage project.

Because Victory will tie back to existing infrastructure, its operational emissions will be lower than for many current UK North Sea gas fields. The project supports Shell’s Powering Progress strategy to deliver more value with less emissions, providing the energy people need today while developing the low-carbon energy system of the future. Shell has given the financial go-ahead for the development of the Victory gas field in the British North Sea, the latest development aimed at boosting the energy giant's production in the ageing basin.The Victory field is expected to produce up to 25,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, or 150 million standard cubic feet per day of gas when it comes online in the middle of the decade, Shell said in a statement. Shell fully owns the field, which is located around 47 kilometres (29 miles) north-west of the Shetland Islands.Its gas will be processed onshore at the Shetland Gas Plant before being piped to the UK mainland to enter the National Grid at St Fergus.