North Sea operator Ithaca has warned it expects production levels to be down for the first quarter of the year after an unplanned shutdown on the Cook field.
The company, which said it is targeting between 11,000 and 13,000 barrels of oil per day for the year as it gears up to spend $295million (£180million) on North Sea projects in 2014.
That figure will not include production from the Greater Stella Area hub, which is not now due to start up until the end of 2014.
And the company said it expected a drop due to ongoing issues with the Cook field, which is already scheduled for an eight-week shutdown later this year.
“Production during the first quarter is estimated to be below the full year range driven primarily by an unplanned shutdown of the Cook field that is currently on-going to repair the gas export compressor on the Anasuria FPSO host facility,” Ithaca said in a statement.
“It is anticipated that the duration of the repairs will result in the field being re-started in February 2014.”
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Ithaca intends to invest $185million on its Greater Stella Area project this year, after confirming earlier this month it expected to yield up to 30,000 barrels a day from the North Sea development.
A further $100million will be inveted into the Fionn, Don Southwest and Athena fields, along with enhancement work on the facilities for the Cook and Causeway operations.
Among that work will be compltion of a sidetrack well on Fionn, which has been held up by the December and January storms, and a new production well on Don Southwest.
The company has also started operations on the Handcross prospect, west of Shetland, with exploration drilling having begun last month.
Ithaca warned it also expected to begin shutdown of the Beatrice North Sea operation later this year.
“The production forecast anticipates that 2014 will be the last year of production from the Beatrice area facilities,” it said.
“Under the terms of the Beatrice facilities lease agreement executed with Talisman in 2008, Ithaca is able to re-transfer the facilities to Talisman for decommissioning.”