DECC approval of the Catcher area FDP

RNS Number : 4597J

Cairn Energy PLC

12 June 2014

 



                                                                                                                                     12 June 2014              

CAIRN ENERGY PLC ("Cairn")

DECC approval of the Catcher area FDP

The enclosed announcement has been issued by Premier Oil plc (50% Working Interest (WI); operator) with regard to the DECC approval of the Catcher Area FDP in the UK North Sea in which Cairn has a 30% WI (MOL Group 20% WI).

Enquiries:

Analysts/Investors David Nisbet, Corporate Affairs	Tel: [phone]
Media Patrick Handley, David Litterick Brunswick Group LLP	Tel: [phone]

UK Government approval of Catcher

12 Jun 2014

Premier Oil plc (Premier) is pleased to announce that it has received approval of its Catcher area Field Development Plan (FDP) from the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change. 

The Premier-operated Catcher area, located in the UK Central North Sea, is expected to produce 96 million barrels of oil equivalent with a peak production rate of around 50,000 barrels of oil per day.

The project will entail the drilling of 22 subsea wells (14 producers and 8 water injectors) on the Catcher, Varadero and Burgman fields which will be tied back to a leased FPSO. The oil will be offloaded by tankers while the gas will be exported through the SEGAL facilities.   

All major service contracts have been awarded and the project is now in the execution phase. First oil is targeted for mid-2017.  

Michael Fallon, Minister of State for Energy, commented:
"The Catcher area development shows that there continues to be an extraordinary level of interest in North Sea oil and gas, which is excellent news for industry and for the whole of the UK. The project represents over £1bn of investment and almost all of the subsea expertise and equipment needed for this development is being supplied by British companies right across the country."

Simon Lockett, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"Having discovered Catcher in 2010, we are extremely pleased to have brought the Catcher area through the development approval process. Once on-stream this project, which has been facilitated by the government's small field allowances, will underpin our growing cash flows."  

 Enquiries

Premier Oil plc 
Simon Lockett, CEO
Tony Durrant, Finance Director
Tel: [phone]                                

Bell Pottinger 
Gavin Davis 
Henry Lerwill 
Tel: [phone]

Notes to editors
The partners in the Catcher Area project, which is located on Blocks 28/9a and 28/10c in the Central North Sea, are Premier Oil plc (Operator, 50 per cent equity), Cairn Energy plc (30 per cent equity) and MOL Group (20 per cent equity) 

 

END

 

 

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