Offshore staff
GODALMING, UK – Hurricane Energy has issued an update on its discoveries and nearby prospects west of Shetland in the UK far north.
TheLancaster basement discovery (potentially 400 MMboe) is in license P1368 in a water depth of 155 m (510 ft). Scenarios under review include a Phase 1 full field development or an early production system using either a standalone vessel or existing infrastructure.
Two wells are suspended in preparation for use as producers. Jefferies International is assisting Hurricane with a farm-out process to attract a partner into some or all of the company’s assets.
The Lincoln prospect is southwest of Lancaster in the same license. Hurricane believes it shares many geological characteristics with Lancaster, including proven oil on structure and a well-defined basement fault system.
Lincoln also benefits from data obtained from previous drilling and seismic data acquired from previous operators. The company plans drilling at some point, subject to attracting funding. A joint development is possible under a project tentatively named the Greater Lancaster Area, or GLA.
Whirlwind, 10 km (6 mi) north of Lancaster in 185 m (607 ft) of water, was drilled in 2010. The well found indications of oil in a Lower Cretaceous limestone (Valhall) and underlying fractured basement within structural closure.
In 2011 Hurricane re-entered the well for testing, but the results were ambiguous and it is not clear whether the hydrocarbons at reservoir conditions are volatile oil or gas condensate.
Either way, the hydrocarbon type is different from that of Lancaster so the current plan is to appraise and develop Whirlwind on a standalone basis or as a future addition to the GLA.
The well has been suspended for future operations. Subject to future funding, Hurricane intends to re-enter it to drill and test a deviated side track targeting a faulted section of basement to the southeast of the existing well track.
Typhoon and Tempest are in licenses P1485 and P1835. A site survey was commissioned over Typhoon during summer 2011, a basement prospect but with further potential in overlying Jurassic sandstones (Tempest).
A competent persons report assigned unrisked resources of 149 MMboe to Typhoon and 1,266 MMboe for the P10 volume. Both Typhoon and Tempest are in deeper water, at around 490 m (1,608 ft), so a drillship may be needed to drill.
Additionally Hurricane believes the 32-MMboe Strathmore sandstone reservoir discovery, formerly operated by Hess, could be tide back to a future Lancaster development.
05/01/2015
