physics

Thames gas field

Thames gas field is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Thames gas field rather than just read about it. In short: The Thames gas field is a depleted natural gas reservoir and former gas production facility in the UK sector of the southern North Sea. The field is located about 80 km north east of Bacton, Norfolk; the Thames production facility was in operation from 1986 until 2014.

Key takeaways

Thames gas field belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Thames gas field to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Thames gas field from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Thames gas field is a depleted natural gas reservoir and former gas production facility in the UK sector of the southern North Sea. The field is located about 80 km north east of Bacton, Norfolk; the Thames production facility was in operation from 1986 until 2014.

The fields The Thames field was discovered by ARCO in December 1973 by well 49/28-4. The field is principally located in Block 48/28. The gas reservoir is a Rotliegend sandstone. At the time of start-up, the field was jointly owned by ARCO British Ltd (43.34%), British Sun Oil Co Ltd (23.33%), Superior Oil (UK) Ltd (20.00%), Deminex UK Oil & Gas Ltd (10.00%), and Canadian Superior Oil (UK) Ltd (3.33%). The field was anticipated to have recoverable reserves of 16.2 billion cubic metres (bcm). In addition to Thames, the adjacent fields produced natural gas to the Thames facility.

note 1. Reserves are in billion cubic metres (bcm). The Thames, Bure, Deben, Welland, Wensum and Yare fields are named after rivers in East Anglia and south east England. Arthur and Gawain are part of the Arthurian gas fields.

Development The Thames field was developed by ARCO as a central 3-platform bridge linked complex. In addition to its own gas, Thames was designed to be a central hub to receive and process well fluids from the surrounding installations. Processed gas was transmitted by pipeline from Thames to the Bacton Gas Terminal, Norfolk. The main design parameters of the Thames area installations are summarized in the table.

In 2007 the Deben wellhead was reused for the Thurne development. The Thames AP platform had the main process equipment which included gas compressors and liquid handling plant. The accommodation facilities for 47 crew were also located on AP. The AW platform had 5 wellheads and the reception facilities for Arthur, Orwell, Gawain, Bure, Welland and Yare fields. The AR platform had reception facilities for Bure West, Horne/Wren and Thurne fields. In addition to the gas pipelines, there were also umbilicals between some of the installations.

As part of the Thames development new pipeline reception facilities and process plant was installed at the Phillips (latter Eni, Tullow) terminal at Bacton gas terminal. From the reception facilities gas passed to the former Amoco (later Perenco) site for treatment.

Gas production Gas production from Thames and the connected fields is shown in the table, data includes the peak rate and the cumulative production over the period 1986 to 2014.

Decommissioning and recommissioning A cessation of production authorisation for Thames was granted in May 2014. Perenco developed a decommissioning programme. This entailed the plugging and abandonment of all wells and removal of all structures above the seabed. Pipelines were left in situ after being flushed and filled with seawater. In 2019 Independent Oil and Gas (now IOG) purchased the Thames gas pipeline reception facilities at the Bacton terminal. The facilities comprise an area of land within the Perenco part of Bacton where IOG’s fully owned Thames pipeline connects to the terminal. It includes gas and liquids reception equipment recommissioned for the development of IOG’s southern North Sea Core Project, across six fields. Produced gas will continue onto the main Perenco Bacton plant for final processing. In 2021 the Blythe and Southwark platforms were installed.

See also Bacton gas terminal Arthurian gas fields Leman gas field Indefatigable gas field List of oil and gas fields of the North Sea

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Thames gas field

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Thames gas field claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Thames gas field before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Thames gas field ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Thames gas field

In research: Thames gas field appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Thames gas field in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Thames gas field is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Lists of oil and natural gas fields, Natural gas fields in the United Kingdom, North Sea energy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Thames gas field outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Thames gas field” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Thames gas field in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Thames gas field means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Thames gas field out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thames gas field in simple terms?

Why does Thames gas field matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Thames gas field?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Thames gas field.