Topsides Production Facilities (2 Cellar Decks, 4 Modules + 1 Bridge)
Named after the wife of Texas oilman T Boone Pickens, the Beatrice oilfield was discovered in 1976 by MESA Petroleum which was an American company founded by Pickens. During the development phase the field was sold to the British National Oil Corporation (BNOC), a nationalised company formed by the UK Labour government during the late seventies. The offshore platform complex which was clearly visible from the East Sutherland and Caithness coast pumped oil directly ashore via a pipeline to a storage and shipment terminal at Nigg in the Cromarty Firth.
The Beatrice Alpha facilities comprised of an Accommodation and Drilling platform (AD) which was installed in 1979 and a bridge linked Production platform (AP) which was installed in 1980. The Ardersier Yard was responsible for the fabrication of the AP Topsides which comprised of a two-piece Cellar Deck structure, four modules containing Power Generation, Switchgear, Utilities and Process equipment plus a Bridge. Following construction and loadout of the Beatrice Topsides, the short tow to the field for installation took only a few hours with the destination being relatively close to the Yard.
After approximately 34 years in production under a number of different operators, the Beatrice facilities ceased Production in 2015.