The company behind a pioneering unmanned oil extraction system has been given another boost after striking a deal to farm into a pair of Irish finds.
ABT Oil and Gas, which is set to develop the previously noncommercial Fyne oil field in the North Sea, will now help develop the Helvick and Dunmore oil discoveries in the North Celtic Sea.
The phased deal, subject to approval by the Irish authorities, would see the firm – a joint venture between AB Technology and Enegi Oil – assessing whether the finds are commercial and could be developed using the company’s unmanned buoy system.
The Helvick field, 36km off the southern coast of Ireland, is thought to contain around 30million barrels of oil, while the size of the Dunmore field is still being assessed.
If the fields can be commercially developed, ABTOG would farm into the projects for a 50% stake.
“We are delighted to be working with ABT Oil & Gas as they bring their experience and technology into offshore Ireland,” said John O’Sullivan, technical director of the fields’ operator Providence.
“We hope that through this partnership, we can realise the potential from these two dormant oil discoveries, whilst we continue to focus on the other more material assets within our extensive Irish portfolio.”
The deal comes after the company agreed a farm-in with Antrim Resources to farm into the Fyne field in the Central North Sea, where the system is looking to access 10million untappped barrels of oil.
It uses an unmanned buoy, which sits just below the surface of the water, to house production and processing equipment for the field. Oil produced is then offloaded to a tanker for transporting ashore.
Enegy and ABT have looked to deploy the project on areas which would otherwise not be commercial to develop, with the move to Ireland representing a boost for their system.
“Our ongoing work on the Fyne oil field in the North Sea gives us confidence that our low cost development solutions can be utilised to develop Helvick and Dunmore,” said ABT chief executive Stephen Baird.
“Dunmore and Helvick are low risk, well appraised projects which have significant potential, but couldn’t, in the past, be economically developed using conventional solutions,” added Enegi chief executive Alan Minty.
“As such, these assets are ideally suited for development using ABTOG’s new proprietary solutions. Utilising ABTOG’s suite of low cost development solutions, we will work towards proving up commerciality and designing a viable plan of development ensuring the full potential of these assets are realised.
“We are delighted to have entered into this agreement with the partners on Dunmore and Helvick and we look forward to working with them in taking these projects going forward.”
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