Jersey Oil & Gas plc (JOG) has been granted a three-year extension for the P2170 Verbier licence as it finalises plans for the Great Buchan area (GBA) development.
FIELD DEVELOPMENT PLAN
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) granted the second-term extension until 29 August 2026, allowing the company and farm-out partner NEO Energy time for a field development plan (FDP) as part of the GBA development plan.
The first phase of the planned GBA work involves the estimated £900 million redevelopment of the Buchan field, with the start of production targeted for 2026.
ELECTRIFICATION
The GBA development will be via a floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, being the “lowest cost and lowest full-cycle carbon footprint option”, which is included in the expenditure figure.
“This is driven by the ability to re-use existing infrastructure that can be located directly at the Buchan field and, with limited modifications, make the FPSO ‘electrification-ready’ upon its redeployment,” said JOG.
The vessel could then potentially connect to one of the anticipated floating wind power developments intended to be located in close proximity to the GBA.
JOG added that the NSTA had confirmed it had no objections to the concept select report submitted to support the Buchan re-development programme.
The company and NEO are also progressing engineering studies prior to submission of the development plan in 2024, and JOG also plans to commission an independent reserves evaluation for its end of year financial reporting.
COSTS
The £900m expenditure for the Buchan field re-development will be assessed with NEO as part of completing the front end engineering and design and contract tendering before finalisation of the FDP.
JOG has a 50% working interest in the GBA licences but, through agreements with NEO, will be carried for 12.5% of the Buchan field re-development costs.