EnQuest, an independent UK-based oil and gas company, reported on Wednesday it achieved first oil from the Alma/Galia development, in the UK North Sea, on October 27, 2015 following final commissioning of all the required systems.
The Alma/Galia fields are located in blocks 30/24c and 30/25c respectively, 310km southeast of Aberdeen, in the Central North Sea. Production is via the EnQuest Producer Floating Production, Storage and Offloading vessel (FPSO).
EnQuest CEO, Amjad Bseisu , said: “We are pleased to confirm first oil from Alma/Galia. A further summary will be provided in EnQuest’s next operations update. We will continue to open up additional wells, with full production rates expected from early 2016.”
At the start of 2015, EnQuest’s 65% working interest in Alma/Galia was estimated to amount to c.26 MMboe of net 2P reserves. EnQuest is the operator of the joint Alma/Galia development.
Alma, formerly the Argyll field, was the first commercially produced oil field in the UKCS and produced oil in the early ‘90s at relatively low water cut using the technology available at the time. EnQuest says that, with current technology, field life can be extended significantly, with the EnQuest Producer having liquid handling capacity of 120,000 barrels per day. Only 30% has so far been recovered from Alma/Galia’s STOIIP (‘stock tank oil initially in place’) of 307 million barrels.