Total Reports Major Gas Discovery Offshore UK

French multinational oil and gas producer Total (NYSE:TOT) has made a massive gas discovery off the UK coast.

The major gas finding in the Glendronach prospect, located West of Shetland, was made during an exploration of the area. The test well was drilled to a depth of 4,312 meters, and encountered a gas column of 42 meters of net pay.

Preliminary testing done on the resource confirms a good reservoir quality, permeability and well production deliverability, with estimated recoverable resources pegged at roughly one trillion cubic feet.

The large scale gas find is located on block 206/04a, at a water depth of about 300 meters, and is situated below the Edradour reservoir. According to Total, the discovery can be developed quickly with the existing infrastructure around the Edradour field and the Laggan-Tormore facilities of the Shetland gas plant.

“Glendronach is a significant discovery for Total which gives us access to additional gas resources in one of our core areas and validates our exploration strategy,” Arnaud Breuillac, president exploration & production, said in the press release.

“Located on an emerging play of the prolific West of Shetland area, the discovery can be commercialized quickly and at low cost by leveraging the existing Laggan-Tormore infrastructure.”

Total’s English division will operate the company’s 60-percent interest in the Glendronach discovery, while partners Ineos E&P UK Limited and SSE E&P UK Limited will each manage a 20-percent stake.

Operating in the UK for more than five decades, Total is one of the country’s leading energy providers. During the first half of 2018 Total produced 171,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

In addition to the newly found Glendronach discovery, Total operates three major zones offshore, including the Alwyn/Dunbar area in the Northern North Sea, the Elgin/Franklin area in the Central North Sea and the Laggan-Tormore hub in the West of Shetland area.

Total shares were slightly up on Monday (September 24), trading at US$64.67 as of 12:35 p.m. EST.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.