In its 2018 Full Year Results, Premier Oil announces a record production of 80.5 kboepd of which 46.8 kboepd from UK assets. Highlights from Premier’s UK activities are the increase of Catcher oil plateau rates with almost 20% to 66 kbopd and the sanctioning of the 500 Bcf Tolmount Main gas project with estimated peak production of 58 kboepd.
Catcher Area development
Premier has identified several high-value subsea tie-backs and infill drilling locations to maintain and extend production rates from the Catcher Area. Premier expects to sanction the development of the Catcher North and Laverda oil accumulations during the first half of 2019. The project will entail two development wells drilled from a common drill centre and tied back to the Varadero field. Drilling is scheduled to commence in mid-2020 with first oil targeted for early 2021.
In addition, Premier expects to drill an infill well on the Varadero field immediately before the Catcher North and Laverda drilling programme to target resources beyond the reach of the initial production wells. Premier plans to acquire 4D seismic across the Catcher Area in the second quarter of 2020 to help confirm additional future infill well locations.
Tolmount exploration and appraisal
The Tolmount East appraisal well is scheduled to be drilled in July ahead of drilling the Tolmount Main development wells in 2020. The well is targeting 220 Bcf to 300 Bcf (P50 to P10) of gross unrisked resource in an area to the east of the main Tolmount field which sits above the Tolmount Main gas water contact. A 3D seismic survey across the Greater Tolmount Area is scheduled to commence later this month. The survey will be used to help optimise development drilling at Tolmount Main as well as the location of a potential Tolmount Far East exploration well, in addition to defining further prospectivity in the area.
Read the 2018 Full year Result report here.
Catcher Area
The Catcher Area consists of the Catcher, Varadero and Burgman fields located on Blocks 28/9a and 28/10c of production license P140 in the UK Central North Sea. Premier Oil operates the field while also holding a 50% stake, while the other partners include Cairn Energy, MOl and Dyas.
The Catcher field was discovered by the Catcher well drilled in 2010, which encountered an oil column within good quality Cromarty age sandstones. The net oil pay was 27m. The Catcher East side-track also encountered excellent quality oil bearing sandstones and established a common pressure regime. Phase 2 of the Catcher area exploration campaign was completed in early 2011 with successful discoveries at Varadero and Burgman in the Tay sandstones.
The total gross reserves are estimated to be 96 mmboe. First oil was in December 2017 from the Catcher field with first oil from Varadero in early January and Burgman coming on-stream in May 2018.
Tolmount gas field
Through the acquisition of E.ON’s UK North Sea assets in 2016, Premier acquired a 50% operated interest in the Greater Tolmount Area in the Southern Gas Basin. According to Premier, the Greater Tolmount Area could potentially contain up to 1 Tcf, including the fully appraised Tolmount main structure of 540 Bcf and upside at Tolmount East and Tolmount Far East, estimated to hold 220 Bcf and 150 Bcf of unrisked gas resource respectively.
The Tolmount Main project is in its execution phase and Premier targets first gas in Q4 2020. Premier’s partner in Tolmount is Dana Petroleum.
