Limited vessel and rig availability have meant delays on two Alpha Petroleum Resources' UK projects, the Blythe development and appraisal on the Skipper field.
The firm is planning to submit a field development plan for the southern North Sea Blythe gas field project Q4. Work on the plan has been delayed because of limited vessel availability for work on pipeline route and site survey work, says Independent Oil & Gas (IOG), a partner on the field, operated by Alpha Petroleum Resouces.
IOG says submission of the field development plan will be a key milestone towards first gas production for IOG, which is now targeted in mid-2016.
IOG has an agreement with BP Gas Marketing under which IOG will sell its 50% share of the gas produced from Blythe (Blocks 48/22b and 48/23a) to BP Gas Marketing.
IOG added that it has committed to reprocessing 3D seismic data on the Harvey discovery and Truman prospect (IOG 100%) in order to assess their potential. Both are located to the east of Blythe and if the remapping confirms their potential size, one or both could be tied back to the Blythe hub.
IOG's acquisition of 100% of the Cronx license remains ongoing. The license extension to the end of 2014, provides additional time for completion and the seller has also now agreed to allow completion up to the end of 2014. Completion is subject to IOG securing funding for a pilot well, which will also allow IOG to qualify as an exploration operator in the UK Continental Shelf.
IOG submitted its application to DECC to operate this licence in March 2014.
An appraisal well on the Skipper license, south east of the Shetlands (Block 9/21a) and also operated by Alpha, with IOG holding 50%, is now scheduled to take place in Q2/Q3 2015, due to rig availability contraints and timings.
The well will appraise the Skipper discovery and target two exploration prospects directly beneath the Skipper discovery. The net 2C resource in Skipper attributable to IOG’s 50% share is 13.1MMbbl, says IOG.
AGR Well Services is working with Alpha and IOG to secure a suitable drilling rig.
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