Serica Energy said today it had started the tendering process for the construction of subsea facilities at its North Sea Columbus development project.
Bids from contractors to build the platform structure, which would be bridge-linked to BG Group’s Lomond platform, have already been received.
Serica said it could now move ahead with developing its finance options for the project, about 155 miles east of Aberdeen.
Building work on installation is expected to start later this year, with first production due for the summer of 2015.
Peak production is expected to be 51.3million cubic feet (cf) of gas per day and 3,600 barrels of condensate and natural gas liquids (NGL) per day, with recoverable reserves estimated at 78billion cf of gas and 4.8million barrels of condensate and NGLs.
Work on the new platform will help to unlock a series of UK North Sea gas fields, including Dana Petroleum’s Arran fields and additional satellite fields around BG’s Lomond platform.
London-based Serica Energy also has acreage in offshore Morocco and Namibia, with partners including BP, Genel Energy and Cairn Energy.