Type:
Gas
Facility:
Production
Water Depth:
44
Installed:
2011
meters
Block:
B-Block
Design:
Fixed steel
Sub Structure:
1060
Topsides Wgt:
1250
tonnes
tonnes
Intro
B13-A is a fixed, normally unmanned gas production/satellite platform on the Dutch North Sea continental shelf, installed in 2011 as part of the A&B shallow gas field development. It produces natural gas and condensate, exporting via subsea pipelines to the A12 Central Processing Platform and onward to shore infrastructure. Coordinates place it ~260-km north of Den-Helder.
Field
The B13-FA field is a conventional shallow-water gas accumulation in the Netherlands sector in the A&B Blocks, discovered in 1990 and developed for commercial gas extraction. It comprises unconsolidated deltaic Plio-Pleistocene sands with moderate recoverable gas resources. Production began in 2011, tied into the A12 CPP via pipeline for central processing and export.
Facilities
B13-A comprises a steel jacket with four well slots tied into multiple development wells drilled for the B13 field. Gas and minor condensate are produced from these wells and exported via a dedicated subsea pipeline to the A12 Central Processing Platform (CPP), where bulk separation, dehydration and export compression occur before onshore delivery via the A6-F3/NOGAT pipeline systems. The platform itself hosts minimal processing—primarily flow control, well monitoring, and metering—with no large separation or compression trains. Electrical power and control are supplied locally for sensors and remote monitoring; safety systems include emergency shutdown and firewater. Because B13-A is unmanned, it relies on periodic visits from service vessels and helicopter support from onshore bases.
SUBMIT YOUR STORIES AND PHOTOS
RigOil is built on the stories of the people who lived and worked offshore. If you have photos or memories from life on a North Sea platform, we’d love to include them in the archive.
Upload your photos and help preserve this shared history.*
*By submitting content, you confirm you have the right to share it and grant RigOil a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use the material for editorial, promotional, and commercial purposes. Copyright remains with the contributor.