Oil firm Apache said yesterday it had reached a major milestone toward the installation of a satellite production platform that would help to extend the life of the UK North Sea Forties field by nearly 20 years.
It also announced “excellent” results from early drilling on the Beryl field.
Houston-based Apache said a jacket for the Forties Alpha satellite platform (Fasp) had recently arrived on site to become a bridged-linked processing and drilling facility.
The topside and 295-foot bridge link are due to be delivered during the second quarter of next year.
Jim House, Apache’s UK North Sea vice-president, said: “What’s extra special about Fasp is Apache is adding another platform in 2012 when the field was projected to have reached the end of its life.”
He added that it still had 130million barrels of oil equivalent of proven reserves left to deliver.
Apache acquired Forties, which the previous operator said would cease producing this year, in 2003. Recent investment has added an estimated 18 years to its life.
The B73y Beryl well found 71 feet of net oil pay and began producing at the end of last month. It also encountered 245ft of net pay in three additional zones that will be produced later. Apache chief executive Steven Farris said: “Our early drilling results at the Beryl field have been excellent”
The company said 3-D seismic surveys of Beryl begun early last month would further refine its future drilling plans.
The UK’s largest oil field, Nexen-operated Buzzard, has begun a planned maintenance shutdown expected to last several weeks. Buzzard produces around 200,000 barrels of oil per day, making it the largest of the fields that contribute to the North Sea’s Forties crude blend.
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