Offshore staff
LONDON — Britain’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has offered Orcadian Energy a license in the southern North Sea under the UK’s latest 33rd round licensing awards.
Orcadian’s license, which covers blocks 49/25b, 50/21a, 49/30a and 50/26, contains the Earlham discovery drilled by Talisman Energy in 1995. The well encountered gas in the Rotliegendes.
The following year bp drilled a long horizontal appraisal well that tested more than 30 MMscf/d of gas. However, the test was halted when it became apparent that the gas contained 49% CO2 and 9% N2.
Orcadian estimates that the Earlham reservoir contains 114 Bcf of sales gas (methane) on a P50 basis. It has proposed a development with an offshore power station, connected to the grid via a wind farm substation, with integrated CO2 capture and storage.
This, the company claims, could deliver a stable and reliable supply of electricity with near-zero emissions. Orcadian aims to present its plans to RWE, which recently acquired the rights to develop the nearby Norfolk Boreas offshore wind farm from Vattenfall.
In addition, the license has the 153-Bcf Clover gas prospect, a four-way dip closure in Bunter sands and analogous to the nearby Orwell Field, which produced more than 300 Bcf before being decommissioned.
Orcadian CEO Steve Brown said, “This is the first time in over 50 years that a single license group has the whole prospect in hand, which will enhance any potential farm-out opportunities for the licence in the future.”
05.10.2024
