UK 33rd round awards could trigger multiple developments of discovered North Sea fields

Oct. 4, 2023
Subsurface consultancy TROVE claims an estimated 2.8 Bboe could be developed from acreage to be awarded shortly under the 33rd UK Offshore Licensing Round.

Offshore staff

ABERDEEN, UK  Subsurface consultancy TROVE claims an estimated 2.8 Bboe could be developed from acreage to be awarded shortly under the 33rd UK Offshore Licensing Round, based on publicly available sources and data compiled by the company in its databases.

The estimate does not include redevelopments of certain fields that could provide additional resources.

TROVE expects some of the major new resources to be opened in areas west of Shetland, building on the recently confirmed Rosebank Field development. In the northern, central and UK southern North Sea, new field and redevelopment projects should arrest the production decline of recent years, it adds.

Of the 932 blocks available in the 33rd round, companies have applied for 258, about 28% of the available acreage, and this includes 60 formerly producing fields, 136 unsanctioned discoveries and 588 prospects or leads.

These awards could deliver more than 1.2 Bboe of new oil equivalent contingent resources (excluding field redevelopments) and more than 1.6 Bboe of risked prospective resources.

The notable west of Shetland discoveries where development decisions would be due in the initial license term include Tobermory and Bunnehaven, and possible extensions to Glenlivet. Other developments and redevelopments where a development decision would be pending include Banff, Kyle, well 22/29a, Cawdor and Platypus.

TROVE suspects the companies likely to take up their awards are Shell, bp, Equinor, TotalEnergies, PivotTree, Ithaca Energy, NEO, EnQuest, Spirit Energy, Parkmead Group, Finder, Jersey Oil & Gas, Deltic, Horizon Partners, i3, Ping Petroleum, Bridge Petroleum, Cerium Resources and Orcadian.

Absentees could include Harbour Energy, Serica Energy, APA Corp and Taqa Bratani.

10.04.2023