Harbour eyes UK Tolmount start-up in July

Chrysaor subsidiary Harbour Energy expects first gas from its UK Tolmount field around the end of July, following the conclusion of final commissioning, now underway, it said in a trading update June 23. And a final investment decision on Tolmount East is expected in Q3.

Tolmount, formerly owned by Premier Oil before it was bought by Chrysaor March 31, will add 20,000-25,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe)/day to Harbour's output. But owing to various maintenance works being delayed – notably the Forties pipeline, which brings ashore Harbour's gas from the Britannia field and surrounding areas – and under-performance in the West of Shetland, it sees 2021 production at the low end of its guidance, it said. Proforma production to the end of May averaged 197,000 boe/d, of which 88,000 boe/d are gas.

It also said a "thorough review of the group's Sea Lion project in the Falkland Islands is currently underway ahead of a decision regarding the re-start of project activity."

Harbour CEO Linda Cook said: "Since completion of the merger, integration continues apace and we remain excited by the significant cash generation potential of the combined portfolios. Despite the impact of maintenance programmes and some unplanned outages, our financial performance has been robust, underlining the resilient cash-generative nature of our business. This, together with our strong balance sheet, provides financial flexibility to fund reinvestment in our portfolio, growth and shareholder returns."