Aker BP gains nod for Tambar modifications

The Norwegian safety body, the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA), has given consent to Aker BP for modifications relating to gas lift at the Tambar field, in the North Sea.

The modifications on the Aker BP-operated Tambar are related to a redevelopment project that was approved in March.

The redevelopment consists of a drilling campaign of two new wells, gas lift for existing and new wells, an operating life extension, and some minor modifications.

The Tambar unmanned wellhead platform is located 16 kilometers southeast of Ula, from which it is remotely controlled. With the re-development, Aker BP expects the field to extend production from about 2018 to 2028 with a potential upside.

Around NOK 1.7 billion ($199.3M) will be invested targeting gross reserves of 27 million barrels of oil equivalent. The expectation is that this will give 4-6,000 new barrels a day over several years.

As for the consent, the safety body actually issued two separate ones, one regarding the gas lift project that will use an existing pipeline between Ula and Gyda to supplement Tambar with gas lift from Ula, and another regarding the use of the Maersk Interceptor drilling rig to drill two new wells on the field.

PSA said on Thursday that the first consent covers gas lift equipment for wells at Tambar. It also includes installation of a new gas lift module and associated control functions.

According to the safety body, the gas lift is being installed because the reservoir pressure at Tambar is no longer sufficient to ensure satisfactory production. The project will, in turn, allow the recovery of remaining reserves in the field.

The second consent by the PSA covers the use of the Maersk Interceptor rig on the Tambar field to drill and complete two new wells, designated 1/3-K-4 and 1/3-K-2.

The PSA added in its announcement that the water depth at the site is 67 meters.

Maersk Interceptor rig was delivered by the Keppel Shipyard of Singapore in 2014, and is owned by Maersk and operated by Maersk Drilling Norge. The Maersk Interceptor was issued with an Acknowledgement of Compliance (AoC) by the PSA in December 2014.