COSL rig spuds North Sea well as another awaits its turn in UK waters

UK-based upstream oil and gas player Serica Energy has kicked off drilling operations at the next well in its multi-well drilling campaign and work-over program in the North Sea, with a rig from COSL Drilling Europe, which has one more well lined up with the British player on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

Serica explains that output has been ramping up, boosted by the start of production on January 11 from the GE05 well on the Gannet field, following the resumption of production from the FPSO Triton, encompassing eight producing oil fields: Evelyn, Bittern, Guillemot West and Guillemot Northwest (NW), Gannet E, Clapham, Pict, and Saxon.

The new well flowed 9,000 bopd with a 0% water cut on the test and has been brought onto stable production at a rate of over 6,000 bopd. According to the North Sea operator, the next well set to add to production is the W7Z well on the Guillemot North West field, as drilling showed similarly positive initial data to that seen on the B6 and GE05 wells.

The W7Z well is expected to be put into production mode in February. As the COSL Innovator rig has now begun drilling operations on the EV02 well, which Serica sees as a potentially high-impact one, on the Evelyn field, the first production is slated for Q2 2025.

Once the well is on stream, the five-well Triton drilling campaign, which began in April 2024, will then conclude with the BE01 well on the Belinda field. The drilling of the BE01 well is scheduled to begin in April, and the well is forecast to enter production in early Q1 2026, following the installation of subsea infrastructure.

“At Triton, the operating mode of the operational compressor has been amended to reduce an identified vulnerability, and the resumption of operations with two compressors, which will support increased asset reliability, remains on schedule to be achieved before the end of March 2025,” underlined the UK operator.

Serica expects increased asset reliability and production from new wells to result in a significant year-on-year increase in average annual production to around 40,000 boepd in 2025, with a broad even mix of oil and gas. The company elaborates that production is weighted to H1.

This is due to annual maintenance programs at the Bruce Hub and FPSO Triton, which are expected to take production into offline mode in Q3 2025 for 12 and 45 days, respectively. The firm’s capital expenditure is anticipated to be $220-250 million, with the majority of spending focused on the ongoing Triton drilling program and subsequent work at Belinda.

Moreover, Serica has accelerated its spend on resilience enhancement measures at both the Bruce Hub and the FPSO Triton. The firm plans to undertake a flare gas recovery project at Bruce, with around $10 million in cost, expected to qualify for the Decarbonisation Allowance.

However, the forecast spend on Buchan Horst remains limited, as the firm awaits clarity regarding the UK’s long-term fiscal regime and guidance for environmental impact statements. Recently, Serica took steps to bring two additional licenses into its fold by acquiring Parkmead.