i3 Energy inks offshore rig LoI for Liberator, Serenity drilling

UK North Sea-focused oil company i3 Energy has signed a letter of intent with Dolphin Drilling for the use of a semi-submersible drilling rig for its 2019 drilling program.

Subject to signing a firm contract, i3 Energy will use either Blackford Dolphin or Borgland Dolphin offshore drilling rig. The oil company will use a Dolphin Drilling rig for a three-well appraisal and development drilling program in the UK North Sea starting in June 2019. The drilling program is estimated to last 94 days.

i3 will first drill the A3 appraisal well in Block 13/23c (Liberator West), then drill and suspend the first Liberator Phase I production well in Block 13/23d (L2) and complete the campaign by drilling the S1 well into the Serenity prospect.

i3 has said that advancement of its integrated subsurface analysis now maps STOIIPs of 314 MMbbls in the Liberator field and 197 MMbbls in Serenity (using conservative assumptions on oil column thickness).

If successful, the A3 appraisal well is expected to convert a portion of Liberator West’s resources into reserves, in addition to determining the placement of the second Phase I production well (either L4 or L1), which would be brought onstream alongside the L2 well at a potential combined rate of up to 20,000 barrels of oil per day in mid-2020. A third Phase I well is expected to be delivered in mid-2021 to maximize infrastructure utilization.

The S1 well at Serenity is intended to prove what i3 believes is a material extension of the Tain discovery, which is an unclosed oil-bearing structure immediately adjacent to the east into which there are 4 well penetrations.

The A3 and S1 appraisal wells will allow the company to optimally size the standalone FPSO facility for a potentially enlarged Phase II development which includes both the Liberator and Serenity fields. Upon the successful appraisal and development of Liberator and Serenity, i3 said it could potentially produce more than 200 MMbbls from its current licenses.

Offshore Energy Today Staff