UK-focused oil company Independent Oil and Gas (IOG) has informed that its field development plan for Core Project Phase 1 in the UK North Sea has been approved by the UK Oil and Gas Authority.
The Core Project comprises gas resources across six discovered UK Southern North Sea ("SNS") gas fields. The phase one, approved by the OGA, will focus on the development of Blythe, Elgood, and Southwark fields.
IOG made the final investment decision on the project in October 2019, kicking off initial works on Platform, SURF, drilling and onshore workstreams.
Following the approval by the OGA, full contract awards are expected shortly for key Phase 1 workstreams underway since FID, including platform fabrication, pipelay and subsea work, and well management. IOG is targeting the first gas from the offshore project in Q3 2021.
Andrew Hockey, CEO of IOG, said:"We are very pleased to have received this milestone approval for our core UK gas project. Such government endorsement brings a welcome boost to the UK offshore industry and supply chain given the current environment."
He said that the project, which is re-using previously decommissioned infrastructure to develop otherwise stranded domestic gas resources, is a "definitive example of Maximising Economic Recovery (MER), in line with UK government strategy."
"In such a turbulent and unpredictable environment, we remain as focused as ever on leveraging our core strengths: funded status, proven resource base, infrastructure ownership, excellent partner, low unit costs, low carbon footprint and experienced team with a clear value creation strategy," he said.
"The safety of our staff, suppliers and their families remains our top priority and we have continually reviewed and upgraded our procedures to ensure they reflect government guidance and maintain safe working environments. As Phase 1 execution ramps up, we have avoided any schedule impact to date from Covid-19 and are also targeting cost savings even more proactively to help deliver our project on time and budget," Hockey said.