Spirit Energy said it would drill a new well in the Grove North East area which could extend the field’s life by five years to 2028 and improve prospects of additional opportunities in the area.
The hydrocarbon exploration and production (E&P) company has studied several options including horizontal, simple vertical and platform deviated wells, subsea tie-back concepts as well as an appraisal well before the development well from the platform.
Spirit Energy’s executive vice president, technical & operated assets, Neil McCulloch, said that the infill well was planned to target the un-appraised north-eastern limb of the Grove field and had the potential to deliver 4.2 mmboe net additional reserves.
“Based on the subsurface, well technical complexity, value and strategic fit criteria, we have decided on a platform deviated well.
“We believe this is the optimal way forward and a robust well design has been developed – our team is experienced in drilling similar wells in the Southern North Sea, including other wells in the Grove area.
“It’s an investment that fits well with our strategy and is important to the Greater Markham Area.”
A heavy-duty jack-up rig from Maersk Drilling, the ‘Maersk Resolve’ will drill the well is due to start during Q1 2021 with production in Q3 2021.
The Grove field is situated on the UK Continental Shelf close to the UK-Netherlands median line. The Grove field and Grove North East are operated by Spirit Energy (92.5% owner share) and RockRose is licence partner (7.5% owner share).
The Oil & Gas Authority supports the Grove NE appraisal well and the approval is through the Well Operations and Notifications System (WONS) process.
Centrica plc Spirit Energy was formed in December 2017 as a joint venture between Centrica plc and German energy and infrastructure firm Stadtwerke München (SWM).
The new E&P company was the result of combining Centrica’s E&P business and Bayerngas Norge AS, which was formerly majority-owned by SWM. Centrica owns 69% and Bayerngas Norge’s existing shareholders, led by SWM and Bayerngas GmbH, own 31%.