Premier Oil has said flagship North Sea development the Catcher field is due for first oil next month.
The operator made the announcement today as the company revealed that it was on track to meet previously increased full year guidance of 75-80 kboepd.
The BW Catcher floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) is to undergo a final few tests before the milestone is achieved.
Premier, in a trading update, also said a ‘heads of terms’ agreement has been signed for an FPSO lease extension on Huntington field, extending the life of the North Sea field.
The disposal programme for the sale of Wytch Farm field for $200 million is still ongoing but a shareholder circular is to be issued “imminently”.
Operating costs are at $16/bbl with capex below budget for the year.
Forecasted 2017 development, exploration and abandonment expenditure is expected to be $300-310 million, down from previous guidance of $325 million.
An agreement has also been signed for the sale of Tuna field gas in Indonesia to Vietnam and the Zama appraisal well – a large find off Mexico – continues to be dicussed with Pemex.
Premier said it was “likely” a four well appraisal programme would start late 2018.
Tony Durrant, chief executive, said: “Through strong production, cost control and disposal activity, cash generation is ahead of plan.
“The excellent progress on the Catcher project, combined with the recovering oil price, will accelerate debt reduction through 2018.
“The agreement to export Tuna gas to Vietnam, signed last week, adds to Premier’s significant backlog of future growth opportunities.”
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