Oil and gas company Hartshead Resources plans to conduct site surveys at two locations in the UK North Sea at the Anning field site.
According to a notice to mariners issued by Charles Keiller & Associates Limited, the 1km x 1km survey would be conducted in Block 49/17b, starting on April 11, with the end date set for April 20.
The survey will be conducted using the Geoxyz vessel Geo Ocean III, which will be towing a 1300 meters long seismic streamer. The vessel turning area will extend 3 km in any direction from the site centers.
Until recently, Hartshead fully owned, License P2607 in the Southern North Sea, offshore the UK, which is comprised of five blocks in Quads 48 and 49, and contains the Anning and Somerville fields in the UK North Sea.
On Wednesday, Viaro Energy's subsidiary RockRose Energy completed a farm-in agreement with Hartshead Resources, acquiring a 60% working interest in Production Licence P.2607. Hartshead will retain a 40% working interest in the offshore license.
The project is a phased redevelopment of gas fields in the Southern Gas Basin.
Phase 1 will see the development of the Anning and Somerville fields, and Phase 2 will focus on the Hodgkin and Lovelace fields.
Anning and Somerville, located in Block 49/17b, were both originally discovered in 1969, with Somerville coming onstream in 1999 and Anning in 2008. The fields ceased production in 2015, at which point Somerville had produced 48 bcf of gas, and Anning had produced 16 bcf of gas.
"It is expected that a Final Investment Decision (“FID”) will be taken in Q3 2023. Thereafter the joint redevelopment of the two fields envisages six production wells being drilled, with first gas expected in Q4 2024 and gross peak production rates of 120 mmcfd (net 72 mmcfd to RockRose, or 12,000 boepd) being achieved in 2025. Gross remaining 2P reserves for Anning and Somerville are reported at 301 bcf of recoverable gas (50 mmboe), with 181 bcf (30 mmboe) net to RockRose. Gross development costs are estimated to be £351m," Viaro Energy said in a statement on Wednesday.
The farm-in deal is structured as a firm consideration payable to Hartshead, and a partial carry of the Phase 1 development costs for the Anning and Somerville fields. A further consideration payable to Hartshead is contingent upon the FID for the development of Phase 2. Additionally, it has been agreed that the operatorship of the license will transfer to RockRose at a mutually agreed future date.
While Viaro did not go into details on the financials, Hartshead said that a total consideration to Hartshead was up to $128 million for Phase 1 and $5.9 million for Phase 2.
Francesco Mazzagatti, CEO of Viaro Energy, said:"Anning and Somerville are expected to reach first gas in Q4 2024 and will contribute around 12,000 boepd to our existing production base of 25-30,000 boepd, taking us a step closer to our 100,000 boepd target."