Chevron has been a leading presence in the United Kingdom's oil and gas industry for many years. Our downstream activity dates from the beginning of the 20th century and our upstream operations from the 1960s.
In 1964, a Chevron and Texaco joint venture drilled the first exploration well in the North Sea. A decade later, the Ninian Central Platform—at the time, the largest object ever moved by humans—was towed into position some 100 miles (161 km) east of the Shetland Islands.
Twenty years after its discovery in 1977, the Captain Field achieved first oil thanks to developments in horizontal drilling and downhole pumps in well bores. More recently, Chevron completed an intensive four-month effort to maintain the field's operational safety and reliability and extend its life. We deployed an innovative Walk-to-Work system that allows greater numbers of employees to be accommodated on a nearby vessel and safely transferred on and off the installation via a hydraulic walkway.
In 2011, west of Shetland, we safely and successfully relocated and detonated a 70-year-old World War II marine mine that was discovered in approximately 4,000 feet (1,200 m) of water.
Health, Environment and Safety
Chevron's Operational Excellence Management System for improving safety, environmental and health performance is woven into every aspect of our operations.
Chevron employs an effective behavior-based safety system known as POWER (Positive Observations Will Eliminate Risk), which teaches and encourages safe work behavior. Our Stop Work Authority is a policy that establishes the responsibility and authority of any individual to stop work when an unsafe condition or act could result in an undesirable event. In addition, we use CHESM (Contractor Health, Environment and Safety Management), a work process that enhances the safety performance of third-party service suppliers and their subcontractors through conformance to Operational Excellence.
In 2012, Chevron marked a notable safety milestone when 2 million work-hours were recorded on contracted subsea vessels without a day-away-from-work incident.
Chevron is represented on the leadership team of Step Change in Safety, a U.K.-based organization whose goal is to make the United Kingdom the safest oil and gas exploration and production country in the world.
We are also part of the Subsea Well Response Project (SWRP), a nonprofit joint initiative of nine major oil and gas companies working together to enhance the industry's capacity to respond to subsea well-control incidents. The SWRP was established on the recommendation of the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers.
The Economy and Technology
Chevron's operations in the North Sea have a track record of technical innovation.
At the Alba Field, we employ 4-D seismic technology to provide a clearer image of the reservoir alongside technologies to improve the quality of water produced during the oil production process.
The Captain Field was one of the first North Sea fields to employ horizontal drilling, and we are testing enhanced oil recovery through polymer chemical injection
The Erskine Field—an unmanned facility—was the first field in the North Sea to deal with extreme pressures (14,000 psi) and temperatures (350° F [177° C]). Experience gained at Erskine is being successfully applied to other developments, including Elgin/Franklin, Jade and Alder.
Chevron is applying its deepwater expertise to the Rosebank project, west of Shetland, including cutting-edge seismic techniques to improve subvolcanic imaging and reservoir characterization.
Chevron has a Global Technology Center in Aberdeen, Scotland, to provide research, development and technical services for operations such as Gorgon and Wheatstone in Australia, Tengizchevroil in Kazakhstan and Jack / St. Malo in the United States. The center enables faster deployment of technology, provides new technology development opportunities and increases the pool of technical talent.
Awards and Recognition
In 2012, based on supplier ratings of our performance and efficiency, Oil & Gas UK awarded its gold-level recognition to Chevron for the quality of the company's compliance with the industry organization's Supply Chain Code of Practice.
We sponsored the Award for Safety Leadership at the 2012 Industry Safety Awards, organized by Step Change in Safety and Oil & Gas UK. Chevron also sponsored the Award for Mentoring at the 2012 Oil & Gas UK Awards, which celebrates the best of the country's oil and gas industry.
Updated: April 2013
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