FRENCH energy group Total said the North Sea continued to provide growth opportunities, thanks to advances in technology.
Total has put parts of its North Sea portfolio up for sale but Patrice de Vivies, the group’s senior vice president for northern Europe, said there was still plenty to play for in the area despite falling output.
Hailing the key role of technology, he cited as an example drilling and testing at Total’s Edradour gas and condensate find.
He said: “It is a very interesting to see in a mature area which has been drilled for 40 years, you can still find very big objects.”
Total raised its medium-term oil and gas production growth targets in a market update on Monday, saying exploration efforts were about to pay off after the group repeatedly missed output targets.
The firm has not disclosed the size of the Edradour find, which is west of Shetland and close to the development of its Laggan and Tormore fields, but Mr de Vivies said yesterday that tests showed the quality of the reservoir was better than expected.
Edradour – discovered earlier this year – could be developed on a standalone basis, he added.
Development of Laggan and Tormore – among 25 new projects under way – is on track for first production in 2014, he said.
Mr de Vivies confirmed Total had put some of its non-operated North Sea assets up for sale, including stakes in the Alba and Armada fields, but said the firm was not desperate to sell.
He would not comment on whether the group planned to exercise an option to pre-empt the sale by French utility GDF Suez of minority stakes in the Total-operated Elgin, Franklin and West Franklin gas fields.
“It is one thing to make a discovery and develop the field,” he said, adding: “It is another thing to come after and then you pay the price for something that is already developed.”
Total’s focus was on organic growth rather than buying shares in developed fields, he said.
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