Serica Energy has said that it expects production from the Triton floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel will not recommence until at least May.
Its announcement follows conversations with FPSO’s operator, Dana Petroleum (‘Dana’) and pushes back the original restart timeline of mid-to-late March.
Production from the vessel was originally suspended in January due to damage from Storm Eowyn.
Serica’s CEO Chris Cox stated: “Our frustrations with the ongoing performance of the Triton FPSO have been well documented – it is not good enough for Serica, and it is not good enough for our shareholders.
“Our drilling results around Triton have been tremendous, and these need to be converted into sustained production and cashflow. We are working closely with Dana to help support them with the current work, and to drive the change required to deliver a more predictable production performance going forward.”
Due to the ongoing maintenance issues and the performance of the Triton FPSO over the last 12 months, Serica Energy is discussing with Dana all options to secure a lasting improvement in the operating performance of the FPSO.
Sea spray during Storm Eowyn on 24 January triggered the vessel’s fire and gas detection system, causing an automatic production shutdown.
Investigations also revealed it had suffered minor damage to one of the cargo tanks, which in turn revealed an integrity issue with a coupling in a gas line.
Triton has been offline since as the partners identify the root cause of the issue and the best means of resolving it.
Triton was hit by multiple outages in 2024, with compressor seal issues causing it to shutdown at the end of October last year.
These issues led to Serica dubbing its 2024 results as “disappointing” with output lower than expected. Now, the issues risk upsetting the group’s “promising” 2025.
The Triton FPSO is located approximately 120 miles east of Aberdeen, and produces oil and gas from the Bittern, Clapham, Pict, Saxon, Guillemot Area subsea facilities.
