Maersk Cuts Steel on UK Culzean Gas Project
Maersk Oil said that fabrication of the $1bn-plus topsides destined for its $4.5bn UK North Sea Culzean gas megaproject has begun. The steel-cutting ceremony for the first of the three topsides modules took place at the Sembcorp Marine Offshore Platforms yard in Singapore on April 7.
Culzean is the largest hydrocarbon discovery in the UK North Sea for over a decade, says Maersk. The high pressure, high temperature (HP/HT) field is some 145 miles east of Aberdeen. Operator Maersk has a 49.99% interest; its partners are Japan’s JX Nippon E&P 34.01% and BP 16%.
Sanctioned in August 2015, Culzean is expected to produce 400-500mn ft3/d (equivalent to 60,000 to 90,000 boe/d) at plateau production for at least 13 years – with roughly half net to Maersk. It benefits from a UK tax concession for HP/HT developments.
“When the field begins to produce in 2019, Culzean will become a key contributor to Maersk Oil’s ambition to become a Top 5 operator in the North Sea in the 2020s, and provide around 5% of UK gas demand at peak production,” said Maersk Oil CEO Jakob Thomasen in Singapore.
However the company is no less immune to low oil prices and cost pressures than its peers. On April 4 Maersk served notice that it will shut a key Danish North Sea gas process and transport hub Tyra that it operates on behalf of the Danish Underground Consortium (DUC) in October 2018 unless an alternative commercial solution is identified by end-2016. Tyra handles 90% of Danish gas production. In 2014 Denmark produced 4.5bn m3. Nor was Maersk among the 12 successful recipients of 16 new offshore licences awarded by Copenhagen on April 6. Last week Maersk said it is cutting 100 staff from the team working on the, now deferred, Angolan Chissonga oil field development: 60 in Houston and 40 in Luanda.
Mark Smedley