Hurricane suffers a setback during Lancaster hook-up operations

UK-based Hurricane Energy has encountered a problem during the hook-up stage of its Early Production System (EPS) development of the Lancaster field in the West of Shetland area and the Aoka Mizu FPSO has been forced to return to the Cromarty Firth.

Hurricane plans a phased development of the Lancaster field. The first phase of the development is an EPS, using two wells tied back to the Aoka Mizu FPSO.

Hurricane completed the subsea installation for the Lancaster EPS and became ready for the arrival of the Aoka Mizu FPSO in September 2018. In mid-October, the FPSO started its journey from Dubai to Rotterdam for a final scope of work after which it headed to the Scottish waters.

Hurricane informed on Monday that, during the buoy hook-up operation on January 18, 2019, the rope being used to pull in the buoy became snagged and it was not possible to complete the hook-up operation. The rope has now been freed and the buoy returned to its starting position, Hurricane said.

According to the company, due to the predicted deterioration in weather conditions, the Aoka Mizu FPSO has returned to the Cromarty Firth to complete remediation work on the buoy pull-in system and prepare for the next opportunity to pull in the buoy.

Hurricane said it will issue a further announcement once the hook-up has been successfully completed.

First oil is scheduled for the first half of 2019.

Offshore Energy Today Staff