Trap Oil said yesterday that drilling of the Romeo exploration well had fallen 16 days behind schedule.
The UK exploration company blamed severe weather and operational problems for the delay at the central North Sea prospect.
Romeo – estimated to contain up to 44million barrels of oil equivalent – is operated by Canadian firm Suncor Energy, which owns 50.6% of the licence. Noreco has a 21.9% stake, Trap 12.5% and First Oil and Gas 15%.
Trap revealed some good news concerning its £31.8million investment in the Athena oil field, however. It has calculated its monthly income from the well at about £2million under current conditions and expects payback from the investment in little more than a year.
The firm completed the acquisition recently of a 15% stake in the field, 112 miles north-east of Aberdeen, from Dyas UK.
Athena, with reserves estimated in the “low-to-mid teens of million barrels”, has been achieving a steady 11,000 barrels of oil a day gross since production started in June. Other partners are operator Ithaca Energy, with a 22.5% share Dyas (32.5%), EWE Energie (20%) and Zeus Petroleum (10%).
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