Harbour Energy expects low output to bounce back as delayed project nears start-up

UK oil and gas company Harbour Energy, formed through a merger between Premier Oil and Chrysaor, has experienced a negative impact on production during the first five months of the year due to planned maintenance and outages across its assets.

However, as these shutdowns are coming to a close and the drilling activity is ramping up in addition to a new project start-up, the company expects to see an increase in output for the rest of the year.

Harbour Energy expects its full-year production to be at the low end of its guidance due to planned maintenance and inspection programmes, which were deferred from 2020 to 2021, and unplanned outages during the period.

Namely, the Forties Pipeline System outage in the UK North Sea started in May, which marked the start of the aligned planned maintenance campaigns at the Armada, Everest, Lomond, and Erskine fields, the Greater Britannia Area, the Elgin Franklin Area and Buzzard. These fields together contribute combined net production to Harbour of around 100 kboepd.

Furthermore, Harbour’s UK North Sea production rates for the period were also impacted by under-performance at the West of Shetland assets and other unplanned outages in its non-operated portfolio during the second quarter.

As a result, the company’s proforma production to the end of May 2021 averaged 197 kboepd, split 109 kboepd from liquids and 88 kboepd from gas.

The company’s 2021 proforma/reported production is now expected to be at the low end of 200-215 kboepd / 185-200 kboepd guidance.

While the production suffered during the first five months, the UK company anticipates it to increase in the second half of the year as maintenance programmes are completed and new wells come on stream, including the production start-up at the Tolmount gas project.

Discovered in 2011 and sanctioned in 2018, the Tolmount gas field is located in Block 42/28d, in the UK southern North Sea. The Greater Tolmount Area also includes the Tolmount East discovery. The field is operated by Harbour Energy with a 50 per cent stake. 

In an operations update on Wednesday, Harbour said that the final commissioning at Tolmount is underway with production start-up expected around the end of July. The project will add 20-25 kboepd to the company’s output once it reaches plateau rates.

Linda Z Cook, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “With the majority of this year’s planned maintenance shutdowns nearing completion, drilling activity ramping up and Tolmount first gas expected shortly, we look forward to production increasing over the remainder of 2021”.

Harbour also added that two of the four development wells were successfully completed during the period with the drilling of the third well currently underway.

The Tolmount project was initially supposed to start production in the fourth quarter of 2020, but it was delayed in May 2020 due to Covid-19-related restrictions. 

The project development consists of a platform and associated gas export pipeline. The Humber Gathering System will initially deliver gas from the Tolmount field to the Easington onshore gas terminal.

Italian Rosetti Marino’s Ravenna yard started the construction of the normally unattended installation for the Tolmount project in December 2018. Following delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, the jacket and topsides were sent to their final destination in the Southern North Sea in September 2020 and were installed in October of the same year, using Heerema’s giant Sleipnir heavy lift vessel. 

The project consisted of installing the 2,350 metric ton jacket and 2,500 metric ton topside constructed by Rosetti Marino. The unmanned platform will handle wet gas production from four platform wells.

Harbour also revealed on Wednesday that a final investment decision (FID) on the Tolmount East development is expected in 3Q 2021. The well was drilled back in 2019, using the Valaris JU-123 rig.

Harbour made an application for consent to the Oil and Gas Authority in relation to the Tolmount East project in May 2021. The project comprises a single well development, installation of subsea infrastructure, and a 4 kilometre, 12-inch pipeline tied back to the Tolmount minimum facilities platform. Installation activity is expected to take 11 months, with a 22-year operational life.

Once the planned shutdowns have concluded and Tolmount has started production, Harbour will review its full-year production guidance. The company’s output rates are also expected to benefit from the ramp up of drilling activity across the portfolio during the second half of the year and into 2022.