Offshore staff
CALGARY -- Fairfield Energy is progressing towards submission of a re-development plan for the Crawford field in the UK North Sea, according to partner Stratic Energy.
The current focus is reducing development cost. Stratic says Fairfield is considering a long-term jackup contract for drilling and production operations. It also is assessing the benefits of multi-lateral completions for the Crawford Triassic development wells instead of hydro-fracturing.
A plan should be submitted to the UK government by mid-year, with development likely under way early in 2011, followed by first oil later that year.
In other UK programs involving Stratic, operational stability has improved at the Petrofac-operated West Don field, with the two producer wells responding to gas lift. Stratic adds that issues concerning the water injection process are resolved, with clear signs of water injection support at the producing wells.
The switch from tanker offloading to a permanent pipeline export to Lundin’s Thistle platform also is on track. Shutdown should start soon to implement the changeover, following which West Don should export oil from the Northern Producer semisubmersible, via Thistle and into the Brent pipeline system, by end-February.
Petrofac is likely to drill a third producer well on West Don, Stratic believes, to access incremental reserves, also accelerating production from the southern part of the field.
In the Bowmore license area, Stratic is in discussions with the P185 licensees about drilling a joint well close to the block boundary with license P1465. The Nexen-operated well, due to be drilled later this month by the semisub Transocean Glomar Arctic IV, will target a potential northerly extension of the Bugle discovery in P185.
02/2010
