UK operator Premier Oil said yesterday it was close to receiving final bids for the infrastructure at one of the North Sea’s largest discoveries.
Premier said three tenders to provide the floating production vessel at Catcher would be submitted next month.
The operator plans to submit its field development plan for Catcher – which at an estimated 300million barrels of oil is one of the most significant prospects in the basin in recent years – before the end of 2013.
In its operations update yesterday, Premier also estimated production this year would come in at 63,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), slightly down on its previous guidance of 65,000-70,000boepd.
It said boosting production from the average of 58,700boepd recorded in the first half of the year was dependent on increasing output at the Huntington field, where it has a 40% stake. The development came on stream in April, and although peak production is expected to be around 25,000boepd, Premier has had difficulty ramping up output.
Premier, which as well as its North Sea portfolio also has interests in Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and Mauritania, said it was also planning to sell some stakes in “non-core assets” before the end of the year.
It is understood some of these divestments will be in the UK, while the operator has already handed back some unexplored licences in the outer Moray Firth and west of Orkney to the Department of Energy.
Premier downgraded its production guidance for the second time this year, although the share price reacted positively to the news rising by over 3% in early morning trading.
First-half production is in line with previous guidance given in May, with better-than-expected production from Pakistan offsetting lower production from the North Sea. However, the ramp up of the Huntington field in the North Sea has been slower than expected and the first gas from the Rochelle field has been delayed, resulting in the lower guidance for the full year.
“During the first half, we have made valuable discoveries across our acreage and continue to build the materiality of our exploration portfolio with new licence awards,” said chief executive Simon Lockett.
“We have also successfully progressed our development and pre-development projects which underpin the company’s future strong cash flow growth.”
Meanwhile the company is to take over operatorship of developing the North Sea Bream field after taking a share of a 40% stake in the project with Kufpec Norway.
The Kuwait exploration firm will take on a 30% interest in the PL407 licence from BG Norge, while Premier will increase its existing 40% stage to 50%, giving it operatorship of the project.
The companies will pay £14.7million for the increased share in the field, which removes BG’s interest in the field entirely. The remaining 20% stake is held by Tullow.
At the same time, Kufpec is to take on a 30% stake in the neighbouring PL406 licence from Premier for £3.3million. Premier retains 50% stake and operatorship in the licence, which contains the Mackeral discovery and the Herring exploration project.