Talisman evaluating Yme alternatives

Talisman Energy needs more time to decide on an alternative development option for the Yme field in the North Sea.

Talisman, the operator of the field, and SBM offshore, the supplier of the troublesome Yme production platform, last year agreed to decommission the platform after multiple delays, and cracks found in the platform’s legs.

The platform was first slated for scrapping in the summer this year, but the decommissioning has been postponed for 2015.

Norwegian news website Sysla spoke with Grethe Elise Foldnes, Talisman Communications Director, who said that, for any future development decision for the Yme field, Talisman and the partners in the field needed more time, and would not make haste decisions. Foldnes also wouldn’t rule out the option of shelving the project for good if it proves to be noncommercial.

The platform has been sitting unmanned in the Norwegian part of the North Sea since mid-July, 2012, when Talisman decided to evacuate the personnel due to cracks found in the platform’s legs. After the evacuation, Talisman sent a letter to the Norwegian authorities claiming there was a threat of the platform collapsing into the sea.

The Yme field was supposed to deliver first oil back in 2010, but has failed to do so due to the issues with the platform.

The Yme field was discovered in 1987 located in Block 9/2 and 9/5 in the Egersund Basin, approximately 100 km from the Norwegian coastline. The field was in production from 1996 to 2001. The main reason for abandonment was the combination of high cost and low oil prices.

Current licensees were awarded the rights to block 9/2 and 9/5 (production licence 316/316B)  back in 2004.

Yme is, or was, planned to be the first field on the Norwegian continental shelf to redeveloped and reopened after having been shut down.

Plan for Development and Operation (PDO) for Yme re-development was approved by the Norwegian Government in May 2007.

Licensees in the field are Talisman Energy Norge AS 60%; Lotos Exploration and Produkction Norge AS 20%; KUFPEC Norway AS 10%; Wintershall Norge ASA 10%.