Premier Oil's central North Sea Catcher field development plan has been approved by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The Catcher area is expected to produce 96MM boe, with a peak production rate of around 50,000 bo/d.
The development project will comprise 22 subsea wells (14 producers and eight water injectors) on the Catcher, Varadero, and Burgman fields. These will be tied back to a leased FPSO. Oil will be offloaded by tankers, while the gas will be exported through the SEGAL facilities.
All major service contracts have been awarded and the project is now in the execution phase. First oil is targeted for mid-2017.
Simon Lockett, Premier Oil's CEO, said: “Having discovered Catcher in 2010, we are extremely pleased to have brought the Catcher area through the development approval process. Once on-stream this project, which has been facilitated by the government’s small field allowances, will underpin our growing cash flows.”
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BW Offshore seals Catcher deal
Picture from Aibel.