Offshore staff
WINDSOR, UK – Centrica has provided an update on it Norwegian and UK offshore development programs.
In the Norwegian Sea, drilling continues at theWintershall-operated Maria project, in the run-up to first oil next year. Total project costs will likely finish below the original business case.
Centrica has awarded fabrication contracts for itsOda subsea tieback in the Norwegian North Sea, which remains on target to produce first gas in 2019.
Statoil is drilling further infill wells at Statfjord and Kvitebjørn, while in the UK sector, Centrica has committed to infill wells at the Chiswick and Chestnut fields.
The company’s projected offshore capex this year is around £500 million ($661 million).
In June,Centrica Storage revealed it had completed a review into the feasibility of returning the Rough field facilities in the southern gas basin to injection and storage operations. However, this would not be possible, the company concluded, due to the high operating pressures involved, and the fact that the wells and facilities are at the end of their design life and had suffered numerous failure modes during testing.
In addition, the costs of seasonal storage suggested it would not be economic to continue operating Rough as a gas storage asset either by refurbishing or rebuilding it and replacing the wells.
Centrica Storage has therefore applied to terminate Rough’s status as a storage facility and to produce all recoverable cushion gas. It has also applied to the UK’s Oil & Gas Authority to produce up to an initial 30.7 bcf to reduce pressure on the wells, thereby minimizing the risks associated with operating the reservoir.
Assuming approval during the current quarter, Rough should begin producing gas following a planned maintenance period, comprising up to 15 bcf during the remainder of this year and a similar amount during 1Q 2018.
08/02/2017
