The UK North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has approved a three-year extension to the second term of License P2244, which contains the Pilot oil field, pushing the expiry date to December 2028.
Orcadian Energy holds an 18.75% carried interest in the license, while Ping Petroleum is operator with an 81.25% stake.
The operator is preparing a refreshed subsurface description of the Pilot field based on high-quality 3D seismic provided by TGS, with support from Orcadian, as the partners work toward a final investment decision.
The extension will allow time to develop and submit an updated field development plan aimed at maximizing oil recovery and reducing emissions.
The Pilot field, discovered by Fina in 1989 in the Eocene Tay sands, has proven and probable reserves of around 79 million barrels.
“Pilot can be a new low-carbon hub on the Western Platform in the Central North Sea with the potential to produce a total recoverable resource of well over 100 mmbbl from Pilot and adjacent discoveries. Exploration success and renewed licensing of near-infrastructure discoveries could raise the potential recovery from this hub to nearly 500 mmbbl.
“This license extension our operator the time and space to design a low-emissions development scheme that can thrive in the post-EPL fiscal regime that has been proposed and consulted on by Treasury, which everyone in the industry is awaiting with bated breath and which is the fiscal regime that matters for Orcadian’s projects,” said Steve Brown, CEO of Orcadian Energy.