Offshore staff
LONDON — Viaro Energy subsidiary RockRose Energy has completed a farm-in agreement with Hartshead Resources for a gas field redevelopment in the UK southern North Sea.
RockRose now has a 60% interest in production license P.2607 containing the Anning and Somerville fields, with Hartshead retaining 40%.
Total consideration is about A$196.3 million ($131.4 million), comprising reimbursement of past costs, a partial carry on Hartshead’s share of development costs, bonus milestone payments and $48.4 million related to the UK government’s investment and capital allowance.
Phase 1 of the project involves redevelopment of the Anning and Somerville fields, both discovered in 1969, while Phase 2 will focus on the Hodgkin and Lovelace fields.
Somerville came onstream in 1999, followed by Anning in 2008. Both ceased production in 2015, at which point Somerville had produced 48 Bcf of gas and Anning 16 Bcf.
Completion of FEED is targeted for the current quarter, with final investment decision expected this summer. Hartshead has agreed main commercial terms to transport and process Phase 1 gas through Shell’s nearby offshore infrastructure.
Joint redevelopment will likely entail drilling of six production wells, with first gas in fourth-quarter 2024 and peak production of 120 MMcf/d in 2025. RockRose estimates 2P reserves for Anning and Somerville at 301 Bcf recoverable.
Operatorship of the license will at some point transfer to RockRose.
Viaro Energy CEO Francesco Mazzagatti said, “After several years of careful investments, we continue to see great potential in the Southern gas basin, which has been one of the most important and longest-standing sources of gas in Europe. It is easy to discard mature fields, but there are significant opportunities that come with introducing new energy developments to traditional gas exploration.”
04.05.2023
