Spirit Energy has submitted plans to develop the Pegasus West project in the southern North Sea to the UK Government.
The Pegasus field was discovered in 2010, with commercial gas reserves found at Pegasus West in 2014, but the project has largely been on hold due to the low oil price.
Spirit, which is operator with a 55% stake, estimates 14.5million barrels of oil equivalent – or 83billion cubic feet of gas – could be recovered from the site.
The firm said submitting the plans to the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) is a “key milestone” as it moves towards a final investment decision planned for next year.
Pegasus West lies 66miles off the North Yorkshire coast, and is planned as a tie-back to the existing Cygnus Alpha complex.
In its submission, Spirit states the environmental impact of the project will generally be low, however there is potential for a “medium” impact on the seabed due to installing subsea infrastructure.
A “medium” impact could also occur in the event of a worst case large oil and gas release.
Should the environmental plans be approved and the project is sanctioned, Spirit expects first gas would be between 2021 and 2023.
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