UK player brings online tie-back to North Sea FPSO

UK-based oil and gas company Tailwind Energy has started production from a well in the UK Central North Sea, which has been tied back to the Triton FPSO. 

The announcement about the Gannet GE-04 well being brought online was made by Serica Energy on Monday, 20 February 2023. This comes after Serica disclosed in January 2023 that the results from the GE-04 well – operated by Tailwind with 100 per cent interest – were “considerably better” than pre-drill estimates with expected initial production rates in excess of 8,000 boe/d compared with 5,000 boe/d pre-drill estimate. The production from the well was slated for 1Q 2023.

As a reminder, Serica Energy confirmed in December 2022 that it had entered into an agreement with Tailwind Energy Holdings to acquire the entire issued share capital of Tailwind Energy Investments in a deal worth approximately £367 million, which would enable it to strengthen its portfolio by adding a new production hub in the Triton area. The acquisition is expected to complete in March 2023.

In its latest update, Serica said that the production via the Triton FPSO had started, following the final commissioning of the Gannet GE-04 well, after the diving support vessel (DSV) Deep Discoverer mobilised to the Triton area in early February 2023 to carry out the subsea tie-in of the Gannet GE-04 well, which was drilled late in 2022 and completed in January 2023.

Mitch Flegg, Chief Executive of Serica Energy, commented: “Including the Tailwind acquisition assets, we have an exciting investment programme of value-adding activities throughout 2023 and 2024 which has started with the Gannet GE-04 well being brought onto production. We are delighted with the strong initial results.

“This additional production means that the Triton hub is now producing at gross rates not seen for the last 10 years. This performance is a credit to the outstanding work completed by the Tailwind team, their contractors, and Dana Petroleum (E&P) Limited, the Triton operator. We look forward to welcoming the Tailwind team to Serica on completion of the acquisition which is expected next month.”

The initial production rates have exceeded 10,000 barrels of oil per day. The well is producing via the Dana-operated Triton FPSO, which lies approximately 6 km to the northeast, in which Tailwind holds 46.42 per cent equity. 

Located approximately 190 km east of Aberdeen in water depths of 90 m, the Triton Area consists of eight producing oil fields – Evelyn, Bittern, Guillemot West and Guillemot Northwest, Gannet E, Clapham, Pict and Saxon – developed via the Triton FPSO in the UK Central North Sea. Dana Petroleum Limited and Waldorf Production UK Limited act as Tailwind’s partners in the Triton cluster.

The production from the Gannet GE-04 well comes months after Tailwind kicked off production in September 2022 from the Evelyn Phase 1 development in the UK Central North Sea ahead of schedule.