Offshore staff
LONDON – Serica Energy has issued an update on drilling for the Columbus development well in the UK central North Sea.
The jackup Maersk Resilient drilled the well to a measured depth of 17,600 ft (5,364 m), with a horizontal section of over 1 mi (1.6 km) in the Forties Sandstone formation.
Completion equipment has since been installed and a flow conducted, delivering a stabilized rate of 38 MMcf/d of gas and 1,560 b/d of condensate through a 56/64-in. choke.
This rate – at the upper end of pre-drill expectations – was constrained by the surface well test equipment on board the rig.
A diving support vessel will connect the subsea wellhead to the Arran field export system after the rig departs the location. Columbus should start production in 4Q once initial flow from the Arran field has reached stable conditions, for onward delivery to the Shell-operated Shearwater offshore complex.
The Columbus well should then level off at around 7,000 boe/d, of which at least 75% should be gas. Minimal subsea equipment has been installed, Serica added, to enable tie-in of the Columbus well to adjacent infrastructure, thereby minimizing the environmental impact and CO2 emissions.
07/13/2021
