Planning is underway for further drilling on the Barryroe discovery in the Celtic Sea offshore Ireland during 2015 with a view to reaching first oil by 2018, according to partner Landsdowne Oil & Gas.
The work is subject to a farm-out deal being reached on on Barryroe by operator Providence Resources, in order to raise the cash to develop the field. According to Landsowne, a deal is "nearing completion."
Lansdowne says Providence envisages a staged development on Barryrow, with Phase 1 using a floating production, storage and offloading vessel to produce up to 30,000b/d from the area around the 48/24-10z well.
Subsequently, a Phase 2 is anticipated to involve a number of fixed platforms, resulting in peak output of up to 100,000b/d.
Discovered in the 1970s by Marathon, Barryroe wasn’t pursued due to high state participation (50% pre-1992) and an unfavorable tax regime. The oil was also waxy, which at the time had technical and economic implications, both of which are no longer a problem, according to Providence.
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