Virus partly to blame as two production hubs put on hold

Growth plans for two of Chrysaor’s North Sea production hubs have been put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Eni-partnered Talbot project in the J-Area, which was due for sanction early this year, has had its final investment decision pushed out to 2021, according to Chrysaor’s latest accounts.

First gas from Zennor Petroleum’s 30millionbarrel Finlaggan development, to be produced via Chrysaor’s Britannia platform, has been delayed from late 2020 until next year.

This latest oil and gas downturn has forced North

Sea operators to defer noncritical spending.

Chrysaor said Talbot, lying about 138 nautical miles south-east of Aberdeen in the central North Sea, had been made commercial by an “innovative supply chain approach”. It plans to develop it as a multi-well tieback to Judy after an appraisal programme.

According to the Oil and Gas Authority, the former ConocoPhillips prospect has probable resources of 13 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent and 44m barrels of “stock tank” oil initially in place, with “potential upside” in nearby discoveries.

Chrysaor said it would focus this year on modifying facilities ahead of sanctioning

Talbot.

Aside from J-Area and Britannia, opportunities are being sought at Chrysaor’s Armada hub, which saw production boosted by around 5,000 barrels per day in 2019 – partly due to two new wells from the Maria field.

The firm is planning a new well, Seymour Horst, at Armada in the second quarter of this year, while considering another from North West Seymour area.

Armada could also be used as an export route for Okea’s Grevling discovery in Norway, as well a tieback option for two new prospects, Jerv and Ilder, that were due to be drilled this year but were pushed back by Covid-19.