Oil and gas company Neptune Energy has started an infill drilling campaign at its operated Cygnus gas field in the southern North Sea, off the UK, with the potential to unlock enough gas to heat an additional 200,000 UK homes per year from this winter.
Upon completion of the 10th offshore well on the field in 4Q this year, the Cygnus gas facility will be capable of producing enough gas for approximately 2 million UK households. According to Ofgem, the average UK household has 2.4 people residents, and uses an average of 12,000 kWh of gas per year.
Neptune Energy’s UK Country Director, Alan Muirhead, said: “The 10th well is part of the existing Cygnus field development plan and will support additional supplies of much-needed low carbon gas for UK households from this winter.
“Domestic production has a crucial role in supporting UK energy security and Neptune has been working hard to incrementally increase natural gas supplies from its operated assets, including from Cygnus in the UK and from Gjøa in Norway, which is exported via the FLAGS pipeline to the St. Fergus Gas Terminal in the North-East of Scotland.”
The drilling operation is being carried out by Borr Drilling’s Prospector 1 jack-up rig, which is, according to Neptune Energy, equipped with technologies that reduce carbon and nitrogen emissions from drilling by up to 95%, and particle matter emissions by more than 85%.
Neptune Energy is the operator of the Cygnus offshore gas field with a 38.75% stake. Spirit Energy owns 61.25%.