Oil and gas company Serica Energy said yesterday that significant progress had been made towards development of the Columbus gas field in block 23/16f in the central North Sea.
It said front-end engineering and design studies were being conducted and it looked forward to gaining project sanction before the end of the year, with first production targeted for 2013.
Serica also said it was now drilling the Oates exploration well in the UK North Sea and would be following this with two in Indonesia.
It added that each of these wells had the potential to add material value to the company if successful.
Chief executive Paul Ellis said: “In the case of the Oates well we have continued our policy of mitigating risk by farming out and our costs relating to the well are being met by a third party.”
Serica has a 50% interest in Oates, which lies in block 22/19c. The other 50% is held by operator Premier Oil.
The prospect has estimated resources of 78million barrels of oil equivalent and results of the well are expected this month.
Elsewhere, Serica said operator Salamander Energy had reduced its reserve projections for the Kambuna gas field offshore Indonesia but had confirmed that production levels would be maintained on plateau for several years. Kambuna, which gave Serica its first production and revenue in 2009, saw average gas sales of 35million cubic feet (mcf) per day in June and 39mcf per day in July.
Serica reported revenue of £7.48million for the six months to June 30 and gross profits of £3.58million.
In the first half of 2009 it had no sales or profits.
Cameron International, the oilfield equipment manufacturer whose blowout preventer was on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig which exploded in the Gulf of Mexico leading to 11 deaths and the world’s biggest oil spill, reported net income of £81.25million yesterday for the second quarter of 2010, down from £87.17milllion a year earlier.
It said the second-quarter 2010 results included pre-tax charges of £11.57million related to the continued integration of an acquired company in the US, plus severance costs and costs associated with investigations and litigation related to the rig incident. Revenue was £913.64million for the quarter, up 14% year-on-year.
Chief executive Jack Moore said the gain in revenue reflected a focus on execution by employees across numerous businesses in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy.