Offshore staff
LONDON – Premier Oil says the flotel supporting initial operations from the Solan oil field west of Shetland has departed, following the re-start of production on June 22.
Solan came onstream on April 12, but was shut down soon afterward to accommodate final commissioning of the electrical systems, the control and shut down systems, and the water injection plant.
Production is in the process of ramping up to 14,000 b/d from the initial producer well, with water injection providing reservoir support.
Drilling activities have been completed on the second producer, P2Y, and a DSV should tie the well into production later this month. Thereafter, output from the field is expected to build to the project’s plateau rate of 20-25,000 boe/d.
As forPremier’s Catcher project in the UK central North Sea, the company now forecasts capex to first oil of $1.3 billion with overall project capex of $1.8 billion, a 20% reduction on the originally sanctioned estimates.
Further reductions in capex in dollar terms could follow if sterling’s present weakness continues, with roughly 60% of the project’s remaining capex denominated in sterling.
The subsea installation campaign should be completed by 4Q: the flowline bundles, towhead and midwater arches are already in place while installation of the buoy and mooring system is under way, with the risers and umbilicals to follow later.
Five wells have been drilled, including the first Burgman producer well, all meeting or exceeding pre-drill expectations. Well sequencing has been modified to avoid more costly winter rig moves and studies continue on how to reduce the overall well count without impacting production.
The Catcher FPSO hull has now been delivered to theKeppel yard in Singapore, and fabrication of the topsides modules is progressing. The vessel is on track to sail-away from Singapore for a 2017 field start up.
Premier adds that work continues on the Tolmount gas field development project in the UK southern North Sea. The company gained a 50% operated interest through its acquisition ofE.ON’s UK assets in April. It is targeting concept selection later this year.
Later this month Premier plans to spud theBagpuss heavy-oil exploration prospect in the Moray Firth offshore northeast Scotland, using the semisubmersible Ocean Valiant which is currently preparing to move off location at Solan.
Offshore Indonesia, the company has completed front-end engineering and design (FEED) for theBison, Iguana and Gajah Puteri gas fields and expects to take related investment decisions during 4Q.
FEED on the Premier-operatedSea Lion project in the offshore North Falkand basin is progressing, with further cost reductions identified to lower the break-even oil price.
Off Brazil, the company is progressing interpretation of a 3D seismic survey over its licenses in the Ceara basin while in Mexico Premier is conducting a detailed technical evaluation of its block 2 and block 7 acreage, ahead of a first well lined up for block 7 next year.
07/12/2016
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