Venture realigning interests in southern North Sea gas fields to help fund exploration program
Offshore staff
(Aberdeen) Venture Production has agreed to sell a 75% stake in its Ensign gas discovery in the UK sector to North Sea Gas Partners (NSGP). Under a related transaction, it will also farm-out percentages to NSGP of its forthcoming exploratory wells on the Amanda and Agatha gas structures.
The company bought Ensign, which has estimated gas of up to 400 bcf, from Shell, Esso and Centrica during 2005-06. Venture will remain operator, and plans to drill an appraisal well later this month using the jack-upNoble Julie Robertson. The primary aim of this exercise will be to test deliverability from a hydraulically fractured well, thereby determining the number of wells needed for a development. The same rig will go on afterwards to drill Amanda and Agatha ¿ all three fields are located in the southern UK North Sea.
