LONDON — Serica Energy plans to P&A its North Eigg exploration well, which discovered oil in the UK North Sea.
The company decided volumes were insufficient to justify a reentry and sidetrack. Following consultation with the North Sea Transition Authority, the company will process to the second term of the P2501 licenses solely to complete abandonment of the well.
It is only retaining the area immediately around the well needed for the abandonment and will relinquish the remainder of the block.
Serica has hoped to prove commercial oil to justify a tieback to its Bruce production complex.
CEO Mitch Flegg said, “We are disappointed that we have been unable to identify a viable sidetrack target for the North Eigg exploration well. Especially given the current licensing and fiscal uncertainties for UK North Sea activities, we believe that a disciplined approach to investment is important. In the near term, this means maturing better short-cycle investment opportunities within our portfolio.”
The company does plan investments this year, and next in the Bruce area and on the fields it acquired recently from Tailwind Energy, also in the North Sea.
Its line-up for 2023/24 includes two light well intervention vessel campaigns on the Bruce and Keith fields and four wells in the Triton area (Bittern B1z, Gannet GE-05, Evelyn Phase 2 and a Guillemot NW infill well).
06.29.2023
