The operators of the giant Breagh gas field in the North Sea have cut predictions for how much it will produce this year as technical problems continue to hamper the project.
The RWE-Dea operated field returned to production at the end of last year, after a host of problems left it shut down for mainteance within weeks of start-up.
Ahead of a report into last year’s damage at the Teeside plant handling Breagh’s output, whcih is due at the end of the month, project partner Sterling has confirmed production estimates for the field have now been lowered.
“The company now expects an average gross production rate for 2014 of 106 to 112 MMscf/d (million standard cubic feet per day), below the previous guidance of 129 MMscf/d,” the firm confirmed today.
“This revised guidance for 2014 is attributable to a number of factors including the drilling and completion of wells A07 and A08 later than previously envisaged, a slower than forecast ramp up to full rates for each of the individual wells, and the short-term impact of remaining commissioning activities.
“The gross production rate at the end of 2014 is now forecast to be 118 MMscf/d.”
Since resuming production at the end of December, the field has been in full operation and producing around 106million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
Sertling confrmed that commissioning work on the plant had recommenced since the field returned to action, with work set to be finished by May.
Further work on the field is planned for this year, which will see another shutdown in the spring to allow maintenance and reduction of carbon dioxide levels in the gas stream.
The news comes as Sterling confirmed former chairman Jacob Ulruch had been appointed permanent chief executive of the firm.
Ulrich, who has been serving as interim CEO in recent weeks, has stepped down as chairman withenergy industry legal expert James Coleman appointed in his place.
“Getting Breagh on-stream and starting to move forward to derisk the Romanian operations has been challenging and I have been very impressed by the group’s capabilities,” said Mr Ulrich, a former managing director with Centrica.
“With the sale of the deep-water portion of the Midia Block in Romania completed and Breagh on-stream, the company now has a strengthened balance sheet, permitting us to move forward judiciously with the exploration and development of our attractive asset base.”
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