Shell Announces First North Sea Oil Project in Six Years
Royal Dutch Shell plc announced its final investment decision on the redevelopment of the Penguins oil and gas field in the UK North Sea.
As quoted in the press release:
The redevelopment is an attractive opportunity with a competitive go-forward break-even price below $40 per barrel. The FPSO is expected to have a peak production (100%) of circa 45,000 boe/d.
The Penguins field currently processes oil and gas using four existing drill centres tied back to the Brent Charlie platform. The redevelopment of the field, required when Brent Charlie ceases production will see an additional eight wells drilled, which will be tied back to the new FPSO vessel. Natural gas will be exported through the tie-in of existing subsea facilities and additional pipeline infrastructure.
The Penguins field is in 165 metres (541 feet) of water, approximately 150 miles north east of the Shetland Islands. Discovered in 1974, the field was first developed in 2002 and is a joint venture between Shell (50% and operator) and ExxonMobil (50%).
A joint venture-owned/Shell-operated Sevan 400 FPSO has been selected as the development option for the field. Oil will be transported via tanker to refineries and gas will be transported via the FLAGS pipeline to the St Fergus gas terminal in north-east Scotland.
Steve Phimister, vice president for Upstream in the UK and Ireland commented:
Shell has had a strong presence in this part of the northern North Sea for more than forty years. Having reshaped our portfolio over the last twelve months, we now plan to grow our North Sea production through our core production assets. In doing so, we will continue to work with the UK government, our partners and the regulator to maximize the economic recovery in one of Shell’s heartlands.
Click here to read the full Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (NYSE:RDS.B) press release.