The Britannia field, discovered in the mid 1970s, is situated 210km (130 miles) north-east of Aberdeen and covers approximately 112km² (70 square miles).

Britannia’s reserves are being developed through a single drilling, production and accommodation platform. The platform comprises an eight-legged tubular-framed substructure which supports the topsides, risers and caissons, and is located over the ten-slot well template, which was installed in 1995. The seven major components comprising the platform topsides were built in Lowestoft and Teesside. These contain utility, drilling and production facilities, together with a 140-man accommodation unit.

Gas from Britannia is processed at the Scottish Area Gas Evacuation (SAGE) terminal in St Fergus, which handles gas produced from a number of other North Sea fields.