UK-based oil and gas company IOG has started drilling the first development well at the Southwark gas field in the UK North Sea.
The Noble Hans Deul jack-up rig had mobilized from repairs in Dundee on December 3, 2021, and initially jacked up at the Southwark Platform on December 9. After preparations for drilling, the first Southwark well spudded at 2100hrs on December 30.
First Gas is expected at Southwark in mid-2022 after the planned installation in Q1 2022 of the 6km Saturn Banks pipeline extension to the Southwark platform.
The rig is then scheduled to move on to drill the Goddard and Kelham North/Central appraisal wells while analysis of reservoir and production data from Southwark development wells 1 and 2 will inform an optimal Southwark 3 well plan.
Andrew Hockey, CEO of IOG, said:"We are pleased to have overcome the technical issues with ROV equipment and to have completed the spud can surveys needed to allow us to spud the first development well at Southwark, another important step for IOG in delivering our Phase 1 project.
The Southwark wells have been meticulously planned by the IOG drilling, subsurface, subsea and HSE teams in collaboration with our main drilling contractors Noble Corporation, Petrofac and Schlumberger, our Platform Duty Holder ODE Asset Management and our partner CalEnergy Resources (UK) Limited and fully integrate the learnings from the Elgood and Blythe wells. We have a very clear collective focus on ensuring safe and efficient performance leading successfully to First Gas in mid-2022 from the Southwark Field."