The door is open for a multi-million barrel North Sea oil and gas field to progress after it cleared the final regulatory hurdle.
An update on the UK Government’s website shows Anasuria Hibiscus’ Teal West development received sign off for production and development from the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) yesterday.
It follows hot on the heels of environmental watchdog OPRED giving consent to the project last month.
A planned subsea tieback to the Anasuria FPSO, some 108 miles east of Aberdeen, Teal West is expected to start drilling this year, with first oil slated for 2024.
Both the Teal and Teal South fields already produce as part of the Anasuria cluster, hooked into the eponymous floating production storage and offloading vessel.
Hibiscus has previously said the West field is expected to have a production life of 10 years and, in a high production case, could reach a total of 10.4 million barrels of oil and 9.8 billion cubic feet of gas.
A single production well is initially planned, with two further wells for water injection and production on the cards.
Current timelines have the injection well being drilled in 2025-26, followed by the second production well in 2027.
The operator had been allied with NEO Energy, which held a 30% stake in Licence P2535, to develop the field.
But it revealed in annual filings last year that the private-equity backed player had made the decision to withdraw from the licence last July.
The move, which saw NEO return its stake in the licence without compensation, left Hibiscus as the 100% owner and operator – and still keen to progress the development.
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