EnQuest has informed that that first oil from its Kraken North Sea field was produced on June 23, 2017.
Kraken is a large heavy oil accumulation in the UK North Sea, located in the East Shetland basin, to the west of the North Viking Graben, approximately 125 km east of the Shetland Islands. The field contains c.128 MMboe of gross 2P reserves, making it one of the largest new oil fields to come onstream in the UK North Sea since Buzzard.
During the initial ramp-up period, the 13 wells that have been drilled and completed to date, comprising 7 producers and 6 injectors, are being brought online in a phased manner, to maximize long term productivity and value, the operator said.
EnQuest CEO, Amjad Bseisu said: “EnQuest is delighted to confirm that first oil has been achieved on the Kraken development, delivered on schedule and under budget. Drill centers 1 and 2 are fully complete and work continues on drill center 3; as a result, further production capacity will come online into 2018 as these further wells are put on stream.
Bseisu said the Kraken was a transformational project, as with production from Kraken, EnQuest is moving from a period of heavy capital investment, to a focus on cash generation and deleveraging the balance sheet.
Gross peak oil production from the field is expected to be approximately 50,000 barrels of oil per day. EnQuest has an interest of 70.5% in Kraken, with its partner in the development Cairn Energy PLC having the balancing 29.5%
UK Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said: “This is a landmark project for EnQuest and the UK oil and gas sector as one of the largest new oil fields to come on-stream in the North Sea in a decade. This has been made possible through significant UK government support to encourage investments of this type in the North Sea, supporting thousands of highly-skilled jobs. We’ll continue to build on this support for the oil and gas sector as it looks to seize the significant opportunities that lie ahead.”