Spirit Energy Ltd. has agreed to fund the drilling of two exploratory wells and one appraisal well south of Hurricane Energy PLC’s Lancaster oil field under development in the West of Shetland area off the UK (OGJ Online, May 17, 2018).
The Transocean Leader semisubmersible rig will drill two horizontal exploratory wells on Hurricane’s Warwick prospect and a horizontal well to appraise its Lincoln discovery, all next year.
Spirit will pay the $180-million costs of initial drilling. It also will carry Hurricane for 50% of development costs up to $387 million.
Hurricane will remain operator until the front-end engineering and design stage for the first phase of full-field development, which would involve tie-back to the Bluewater Energy Services Aoka Mizu floating production, storage, and offloading vessel on Lancaster field.
Spirit would become license operator for development.
Hurricane says its early production system for Lancaster field remains on schedule for production start in next year’s first half.
The farmin agreement provides for the drilling of a further three wells in 2020, subject to partner approval.
Hurricane said the first three wells will target potential fault compartments to determine if large faults act as pressure barriers on the Warwick and Lincoln structures.
It located the Lincoln appraisal, 205/26b-B, to facilitate long-term testing via tie-back to the Aoka Mizu. Target depth is 1,770 m TVD subsea (TVDSS).
Target depths of the Warwick exploratory wells are 1,840 m TVDSS for 204/30b-A and 1,900 m TVDSS for 205/26b-C.
Hurricane said the depths will allow an oil gradient to be defined from drillstem test pressures if no fault compartmentalization is observed. One of the Warwick wells will be drilled below local structural closure to prove flow rates for deep oil.
Hurricane says its 2016 Lincoln well, 205/26b-12, demonstrated the existence of an oil column separate from Lancaster.