ROCKMAN wrote:So true. And some folks have the head stuck so far up one part of that elephant's anatomy they haven't a clue about the big picture. But not and you, of course. LOL.
Billion-barrel North Sea oil discovery is largest UK find of the century
The news has been welcomed by the industry, which has struggled after the oil price collapsed in 2014, leading to large-scale job losses.
The embattled energy industry yesterday welcomed the announcement of the discovery of the UK’s largest new oil field this century.
Exploration specialists Hurricane Energy said up to one billion barrels of oil could lie in the untapped Greater Lancaster area, 60 miles west of Shetland.
They reportedly need to raise £318million to develop the discovery and could begin producing oil in two years.
The news was welcomed by the industry, which has struggled after the oil price collapsed in 2014, leading to large-scale job losses.
Deirdre Michie, chief executive of industry body Oil and Gas UK, said: “This is extremely exciting and welcome news.
“Hurricane Energy’s announcement demonstrates the significant remaining potential of the UK Continental Shelf.
“Signs of optimism, mainly led by exploration and production companies, are returning to the basin which has worked hard to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
“However, the UKCS needs fresh investment so it can capitalise on its potential.”
Hurricane found oil in two wells which sit 20 miles apart and believe they form part of the same field.
The discovery is larger than finds in recent years, which have been about 25million barrels.
Hurricane’s find is estimated to be a fifth of the size of the Forties field, which once held about five billion barrels.
Professor Paul de Leeuw, director of the Oil and Gas Institute at Aberdeen’s Robert Gordon University, said: “The industry needs good news and this certainly is.
“If it’s as big as they say, and it’s early days as they’ve only drilled a couple of wells, it’s really promising.”
“This follows on the back of some pretty big finds west of Shetland, the Clair Ridge and Schiehallion.
“This is the first announcement where Hurricane are saying they have a couple of finds which are connected and that makes it one very large field.
“The reason why I’d be slightly cautious is that it’s early days.
“What they’ve found is called a ‘fractured basement reservoir’ which is really hard, brittle rock like granite.
“Until you test the flow it’s too early to say how much oil will be recovered.
“But this is good news and signs of some confidence returning to the North Sea.”
Dr Robert Trice, Hurricane’s chief executive, described the find as “exciting” and “a highly significant moment”.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
BP plc announced Wednesday that it has made new discoveries in the North Sea at Capercaillie, in Block 29/4e, and Achmelvich, in Block 206/9b. The Capercaillie well was drilled to a total depth of 12,303 feet and encountered light oil and gas-condensate in Paleocene and Cretaceous-age reservoirs, while Achmelvich was drilled to a total depth of 7,857 feet and hit oil in Mesozoic-age reservoirs. “These are exciting times for BP in the North Sea as we lay the foundations of a refreshed and revitalized business that we expect to double production to 200,000 barrels a day by 2020 and keep producing beyond 2050,” Mark Thomas, BP North Sea regional president, said in a company statement. “We are hopeful that Capercaillie and Achmelvich may lead to further additions to our North Sea business, sitting alongside major developments like Quad 204, which came onstream in
The North Sea is now back to a ‘new normal’ but we are never likely to go back to the heyday of 2014, according to Kevin Swann, Wood Mackenzie (WoodMac) UK upstream research analyst. “Cost cutting has been widespread with an average reduction of more than 30 percent in operating expenditure across the North Sea,” Swann told Rigzone. “Plans for growth are featuring again on corporate agendas, but there is still a sense of cautious optimism as investor confidence has been shaken. However, companies are now geared up for a ‘lower for longer’ oil price and should be more insulated against any future oil price shocks,” he added. The recovery to date has been slow when comparing the North Sea to the United States, Stuart White, Bank of Scotland regional director for mid-markets North of Scotland, said. “Assuming there are no further macro-level shocks,
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