TotalEnergies brings more gas on stream with North Sea tie-back up and running

France’s energy giant TotalEnergies has started production from a well in the Harald East area, with the gas set to be exported through the Tyra facilities in the Danish sector of the North Sea.

Once a final investment decision (FID) was made by the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC), including TotalEnergies (operator, 43.2%), BlueNord (36.8%), and Nordsøfonden (20%), to drill the Harald East Middle Jurassic well (HEMJ), drilling activities began in June 2024 with the Shelf Drilling Winner jack-up rig in the Harald East area, close to the Norwegian border.

The well (HEMJ-1X) discovered additional gas condensate resources in the Harald field, located in shallow waters 250 km off the west coast of Denmark. Based on the operator’s data, the well, which encountered 48 meters of net gas condensate pay in a good quality reservoir, was set to be connected to the Harald platform, enabling production start-up before the end of the year through the existing Harald and Tyra facilities.

TotalEnergies’ partner in the Danish Underground Consortium, BlueNord, has confirmed the first production from the Harald East Middle Jurassic well, achieved on December 6, allowing for a longer plateau production from the Tyra hub. As HEMJ production continues, the volume potential is expected to be assessed further.

According to BlueNord, Tyra reached full technical capacity on November 10, 2024, and production resumed from the Harald field on the same day. Tyra East, Tyra South East, and the third-party Trym field have also begun production, with the firm’s net daily production in November peaking at 11 mboepd.  

However, the firm claims that Tyra experienced periods of lower production in the second half of the month, as weather conditions impacted access to the satellites. TotalEnergies continued work to optimize the offshore systems. 

The production at the base assets, Gorm, Dan, and Halfdan hubs, was affected by the start-up activities on Tyra and a spool replacement on Dan. The SGPAP production on the Gorm hub was impacted by water handling constraints. The work is currently being carried out to increase the injection capacity on the Gorm hub to boost production again.

The overall ramp-up of the Tyra facilities is currently progressing according to plan, based on BlueNord’s statement. The company expects plateau production to be reached by the end of 2024. The redeveloped Tyra hub, which extends the Danish field’s life by 25 years, is anticipated to produce 5.7 million cubic meters of gas and 22,000 barrels of condensate per day at a plateau.

TotalEnergies has been busy with multiple projects, including an oil one for which it recently reached a final investment decision (FID) off the coast of Suriname. The firm also disclosed plans to sell to QatarEnergy a minor part of its interests in two blocks about 300 kilometers off the coast of Namibia.