One of the largest untapped North Sea fields is on track for first oil in 2018 and is expected to produce for 20 to 30 years, its developers have claimed.
Graham Stewart, chief executive of Faroe Petroleum, said its combined Lowlands and Perth fields about 140 miles north-east of Aberdeen had been appraised to contain up to 270million barrels of oil, with 62million barrels currently known to be commercially recoverable.
Stewart said the project was “one of the biggest in the North Sea yet to be done” and was comparable to recent major finds such as Catcher, which is estimated to hold 100million barrels of oil and was recently given the green light by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
Aberdeen-based Faroe is preparing a field-development plan alongside its partner, Parkmead, which has a 52% stake in the Perth field, while AIM-listed Faroe has a 100% stake in the nearby Lowlander field.
The two firms plan to bring the fields together in a joint project and will require another company coming on board to invest hundreds of millions to develop production facilities.
The oil reserves in the two fields contain hydrogen sulfide, otherwise known as “sour crude”. This means nearby production assets, such as the Tartan platform, are not suitable for exploiting the fields because sour crude is corrosive.
In a recent company presentation, Faroe said the platform, once put in place, would benefit from “additional volumes” from Central North Sea area.
The news that a major field in the central North Sea will be producing in as little as four years comes as developments raise expectations about the longevity of North Sea oil and gas.
Earlier this week, a think-tank claimed Scotland’s oil and gas revenues could be six times higher than currently forecast by the UK Government.
N-56 said the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts were “woefully pessimistic” and that adopting plans like those devised by Sir Ian Wood could raise income to £365billion. This compares to OBR estimates that indicate oil and gas revenues will amount to £57billion between 2014 and 2040
Last week, Xcite Energy said its Bentley find could produce oil until 2050. The project east of Shetland is another of the North Sea’s largest untapped resources and could produce over 300million barrels of oil.
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