Centrica sanctions Rhyl gas project

July 29, 2011
Centrica has approved the £85-million ($138.5 million) development of the Rhyl field in the East Irish Sea, off northwest England.

Offshore staff

WINDSOR, UK – Centrica has approved the £85-million ($138.5 million) development of the Rhyl field in the East Irish Sea, off northwest England.

The company expects to bring the field into production during 2012. Producible reserves are estimated at 7 MMboe.

In February, Centrica sanctioned development of the Ensign and York gas fields in the UK southern North Sea, with combined investments of £450 million ($733.5 million) to recover over 30 MMboe in total. Ensign should start up this fall, with York to follow next year.

Earlier this month, Centrica produced first oil two months ahead of schedule through the Goosander Crestal development well, a tieback to the Kittiwake platform in the central North Sea. This year, Centrica has also added or participated in new production wells at West Brae in the central North Sea and F3-FA in the Dutch sector.

In the southern gas basin, development work at Seven Seas should lead to first gas there in the fourth quarter of the year.

The company continues to assess a much larger gas development project in this region, the GDF Suez-operated Cygnus, with a view to taking a final investment decision early in 2012.

Exploration drilling led to a discovery at the Pegasus prospect in the UK North Sea. However, wells on the Whitethroat prospect and Gulris offshore Norway were both unsuccessful.

07/29/2011