Ithaca sees another setback in FPF-1 delivery. First oil from Stella delayed

Ithaca Energy has informed that sail-away of the floating production unit FPF-1 to the Greater Stella Area (GSA) in the UK North Sea is expected to be delayed by six to twelve weeks causing further delays of the first oil from Stella.

According to Ithaca, the sail-away of the FPF-1 from Poland at the end of the first quarter of 2016 has been delayed due to slippage in completion of certain commissioning milestones and the requirement for some marine system re-work in order to ensure the vessel meets the required sail-away certification standards.

With this new schedule for sail-away, first hydrocarbons from the GSA are now anticipated in the third quarter of 2016, increasing production by approximately 16,000 boepd net to Ithaca.

The focus of the on-going GSA development activities remain centered on completion of the FPF-1 modifications program that is being undertaken by Petrofac in the Remotowa shipyard in Poland, Ithaca said on Tuesday.

All costs of modifying the FPF-1 above the contract cost cap continue to be fully paid by Petrofac.

Under the terms of the FPF-1 incentivisation agreement, a delay in sail-away of the vessel will reduce any potential incentive payment made by Ithaca to Petrofac. The agreement provides for Petrofac to earn up to $34 million dependent on the timing of sail-away of the FPF-1, with the maximum payment achieved for delivering sail-away from the shipyard prior to the end of March 2016 and reducing to zero for sail-away after July 31, 2016.

All the subsea infrastructure that is required to be installed prior to the arrival of the FPF-1 on location is in place and all five Stella development wells have been drilled and tested.

GSA development

The Ithaca operated Greater Stella Area is located in the heart of the Central Graben area of the Central North Sea, on the UK Continental Shelf. The Greater Stella Area licences contain the Stella and Harrier fields, which are currently in the process of being developed.

The plan for the joint development of the fields was approved by the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) in April 2012. The development is centred on the drilling of subsea wells tied back to the FPF-1 floating production unit, with the onward transportation of processed hydrocarbons to nearby existing oil and gas export infrastructure.

Offshore Energy Today Staff