Tulip Oil halves gas production from North Sea field

Dutch exploration and production operator Tulip Oil halved its gas production from the Q10-A field in the Dutch North Sea during the third quarter of the year when compared to the previous quarter due to a temporary shut-in and lower prices.

The Tulip Oil-operated Q10-A field started producing gas in February 2019.

Due to the low gas prices, Tulip Oil in July 2020 said it had partially reduced the production from the Q10-A field to “leave gas in the ground”.

As a result, 119 million standard cubic meters of gas were produced during the second quarter of the year compared to 198 million standard cubic meters of gas in the first quarter of 2020.

In an update on Wednesday, Tulip Oil said that, since 1 September, the production was shut in entirely to allow for planned maintenance of the neighbouring P15 platform.

As such, 59 million standard cubic meters of gas were produced in 3Q, compared with 119 million standard cubic meters in 2Q.

The average realized gas price was 6.1 €/MWh during 3Q compared with 5.6 €/MWh in the previous quarter.

At the reduced production levels, the Q10-A field continues to generate strong EBITDA margins, the company said.

Steps have been taken to increase production capacity in 4Q by activating existing third-party compression facilities.

Preparations continue to add two production wells in the Q10A field by means of one completion of an unfinished well and one side-track.

Furthermore, Tulip Oil is considering alternatives for field life extension with long term opex reductions and reserves additions.