Zennor Petroleum has reached a “key step” towards first production at its Finlaggan field in the North Sea.
Drilling and testing operations have been completed, with the two production wells flowing at “significantly higher than expected” pressures.
The firm said this helps de-risk the prospect, which is targeting 30million barrels of oil equivalent, and puts it on course for first production in Q4 of next year.
Finlaggan is a two-well prospect in the Central North Sea which will be tied back to ConocoPhillips’ Britannia platform 12miles away.
Transocean’s Paul B Loyd Jr. rig has now left the Finlaggan location and has been demobilised to Invergordon.
The wells produced at 12,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, which was “constrained” by the surface facilities.
In an update, Zennor also said construction work on the subsea pipe system is proceeding on schedule for installation in the third quarter of this year.
Managing director Martin Rowe said: “All of our teams continue to work exceptionally hard, alongside our main contractors, to deliver the Finlaggan project safely as planned and their progress and achievements to date talk to their skill and dedication.
“With the drilling and completion phase behind us we are now fully focussed on the Summer 2019 subsea installation programme which will take us another step closer to realising first production from Finlaggan next year.”
Finlaggan is 100% owned by the private equity-backed Zennor Petroleum.
The firm was given the go-ahead for the field development plan by the Oil and Gas Authority in October.