Offshore staff
LONDON – Jersey Oil and Gas (JOG) has issued a progress report on planning with partner NEO Energy for the Greater Buchan Area (GBA) development in the UK central North Sea.
Earlier this year the partners opted for a re-deployment of an FPSO as their preferred development solution and they are currently negotiating a fully termed agreement to acquire a suitable vessel,
They have also determined that an electrification-ready FPSO would represent the lowest cost development option and would lead to the lowest full-cycle carbon footprint of all the options studied.
Britain’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) recently confirmed that it has no objections to the licensees preparing a Field Development Plan (FDP) as described in the submitted Concept Select Report.
To support further preparations, the NSTA has approved an 18-month extension to the second term of license P2498 to late February 2025. Following FDP approval, the license will move into the third term, covering the development and production phase of activities for the life of the field.
In addition, the second term of the P2170 Verbier has been extended by three years to August 29, 2026, giving the licensees time required to prepare an FDP for the Verbier discovery as part of a phased GBA development plan.
With NEO now approved to take over as operator by the NSTA the company has put in place a project management team and recently finalized a plan to move the Buchan redevelopment into the FEED phase.
FEED scopes of work are now under review concerning well design, subsea and gas export infrastructure, FPSO electrification, life extension and re-deployment. And talks continue with offshore wind developers continues, as the GBA development could form part of the future Outer Moray Firth offshore wind electrification plans under consideration under the Government's Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas (INTOG) leasing round process.
NEO aims to submit the FDP to the NSTA in the first half of 2024 for subsequent approval later in the year.
09.14.2023
