Oil and gas firm EnQuest said yesterday its production for the first four months of the year was below target, following shutdowns on the Brent pipeline.
The key Brent pipeline system, which carries 10% of the UK’s oil and gas, runs through the Taqa Bratani-operated Cormorant Alpha platform, which has suffered from two hydrocarbon leaks so far this year.
Average production at Aberdeen-based EnQuest fell to 20,494 barrels of oil (boe) per day during the period, but the independent said it was on track to meet its annual guidance of between 22,000 and 27,000 boe per day for the full year.
EnQuest said the shutdowns on the Brent pipeline affected its Thistle/Deveron and Don fields.
Amjad Bseisu, chief executive, said in an operations update that the firm’s major North Sea development projects, Alma/Galia and Kraken, were both on schedule.
He said: “EnQuest’s growth and execution remain on course.
“We are on track to submit the field development plan for Kraken (in the northern North Sea) by mid-year and to sanction the project later in 2013.”
He added results from an appraisal well in north Kraken were in line with expectations. The company – which acquired an 8% stake in the central North Sea Alba field earlier this year – said the acquisition would bring the total number of wells planned for drilling in 2013 up by four to 16.
The Alma/Galia project, also in the central North Sea, remains on track for first production by the end of the year, with drydock work on the production vessel now complete.
Mr Bseisu said: “With the increase in scope for a potential second phase (at Alma/Galia), our schedule is challenging but achievable.”
As reported previously, the company is looking at opportunities to acquire maturing assets and development prospects in the UK, and also in other regions, such as the Norwegian North Sea, South-east Asia and north Africa.
EnQuest has awarded an inspection, repair and maintenance contract to Hallin Marine for work on its Thistle Alpha platform, 275 miles north-east of Aberdeen.
Recommended for you
