Neptune Energy and its joint venture partners BP and Japex have made the final investment decision for the Seagull project in the UK North Sea.
Neptune submitted the Field Development Plan (FDP) for Seagull to the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) on Thursday, and upon the OGA’s approval of the FDP, the first production is planned by the end of 2021.
Seagull is expected to initially produce around 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (80 per cent oil) across its 10-year design life. Proved plus probable gross reserves are estimated at 50 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Seagull is a high pressure, high temperature development located in the Central North Sea on UK licence P1622 Block 22/29C, 17km south of the BP Operated ETAP Central Processing Facility (CPF).
Seagull will be tied back to the ETAP CPF partially utilizing existing subsea infrastructure.
Gas from the development will come onshore at the CATS processing terminal at Teesside, while oil will come onshore through the Forties Pipeline System to the Kinneil Terminal, Grangemouth.
Jim House , Neptune CEO, said: “Seagull is a low cost, near-term development in close proximity to existing infrastructure. It complements our existing assets in the North Sea and provides growth and greater diversity for our UK business.”
Neptune is the operator of Seagull and has a 35 per cent equity interest. Its joint venture partners are BP with 50 per cent and Japex with 15 per cent.
Neptune acquired its 35 per cent interest in Seagull from Apache North Sea in 2018.