Chevron's North Sea Erskine field production has been temporarily suspended during maintenance work to remove a pipeline blockage, according to partner Serica Energy.
 |
|
Erskine. Image from Chevron. |
Equipment to safely clear the pipeline is being deployed and the field is expected to restart production mid-April. Pigging of the Erskine to Lomond line has already been completed successfully. A condensate export pump on the Lomond platform will also be repaired.
Operating costs in Q1 remain below an estimated US$20/boe compared to previous guidance of $20-24/boe reflecting continuing cost reduction programs on the Erskine and the Lomond facilities designed to improve near-term profitability and extend field economic life well into the 2020s.
Tony Craven Walker, Serica's chairman commented: "The Erskine field has continued to exceed expectations since Serica acquired its interest in June last year. The high facility uptime, improved and consistent field production rates and material cost reductions have resulted in operating costs per barrel well below recent oil price lows. We expect this strong performance to continue once the pig has been recovered and production has resumed."
The Erskine gas condensate field lies approximately 241km (150mi) east of Aberdeen, Scotland, in the Central North Sea, in 90m (296ft) water depth.
The field includes a normally unattended installation and is remotely controlled from BG's Lomond platform. A 30km (18.6mi) pipeline links the two facilities, Chevron said.
Discovered in 1981 in Block 23/26, Erskine was the first high-pressure, high-temperature field to be developed in the UK Continental Shelf. First production was achieved in December 1997.
Erskine is operated by Chevron North Sea with 50% stake. Partners include BG International (29.30%), BG North Sea Holdings (2.70%) and Serica Energy (18%).
Subscribe
