Independent Oil and Gas plc (IOG) said it had started Phase 1 drilling of five gas development wells in the UK Southern North Sea.
Elgood well 48/22c-H1 is expected to take some three months to drill and complete ahead of first gas before the rig moves to Blythe during the early part of the third quarter.
On 1 April, the Noble Hans Deul jack-up rig mobilised from the Cromarty Firth and reached the Elgood field on 4 April.
Following preparation and jacking-up, the Elgood well spudded last Friday (9 April).
Site operator IOG is targeting high returns via an infrastructure-led hub strategy involving a total of six fields in which it holds 50% ownership with remaining held by CalEnergy Resources (UK) Ltd (CER).
Chief executive Andrew Hockey said that the start of the Phase 1 drilling campaign was another milestone for the company.
“This drilling campaign has been planned meticulously by the IOG drilling, subsurface, subsea and HSE teams since early last year, in collaboration with our main drilling contractors Noble Corporation, Petrofac and Schlumberger and our partner CalEnergy.
“We have a very clear collective focus on ensuring safe and efficient performance leading successfully to first gas in Q3 2021 at the Blythe Hub before continuing into 2022 at Southwark.”
The Phase 1 field development plan (FDP), which entails Southwark, Blythe and Elgood, was approved by the Government in April 2020, with first gas planned for Q3 2021.
Phase 2 involves Goddard, Nailsworth and Elland fields.