Production starts from the Maersk Oil’s new platform in the Danish North Sea
Production has started from the new unmanned platform Tyra Southeast-B, safely, on time and on budget. The platform is expected to add reserves of 50 million barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) over the next 30 years to Danish production, Maersk Oil said in its press release.
“The Tyra Southeast extension is a great example of how we extract value from the Danish North Sea by combining intricate knowledge, long-term investments and the right technical capabilities. Over the next three decades, the new platform will add both oil and gas to our production. This is an important step in Maersk Oil’s growth journey and it demonstrates that Denmark continues to be a core area for us,” said Maersk Oil CEO Jakob Thomasen.
The drilling of the first well commenced in December 2014 from the Ensco 72 drilling rig. From this well alone the production is expected to be 2,600 boepd. The plan is to drill a total of 8-12 horizontal wells during 2015-2017 with each well being about six kilometres long.
“We are excited to see first production which will contribute positively to Maersk Oil’s total volumes. The initial planning began four years ago, culminating with the final construction and installation mid-2014. In total, the Danish Underground Consortium has invested DKK 4.5 billion and it is exactly such investments that are needed to secure the future Danish oil and gas production,” said Martin Rune Pedersen, Managing Director of Maersk Oil Danish Business Unit, the operator of the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC).
The new platform, located 220 kilometres off Denmark’s west coast, will produce a mixture of oil and gas and is expected to deliver approximately 20 million barrels of oil and 170 billion standard cubic feet of gas, combined reserves and resources of 50 million BOE, with peak production in 2017 of 20,000 boepd.
The total investment in the Tyra Southeast expansion of DKK 4.5 billion includes the platform with a total weight of 4,700 tonnes, pipelines and drilling of the wells. The jacket (legs) and topside were constructed by Bladt Industries A/S, a Danish contractor located in Northern Jutland.
The investment is the largest made by Danish Underground Consortium since the approval of the Phase IV development of Halfdan in 2007.
DUC is the partnership between A.P. Møller - Mærsk (31.2%), Shell (36.8%), Nordsøfonden (20%) and Chevron (12.0%).