Page 12 - EurOil Week 24 2021

EurOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES EurOil

Troubles mount for Hurricane Energy

UK TROUBLES are mounting for UK explorer of this. If a resolution is not reached, “Hurricane
Hurricane Energy, whose shareholders will vote may need to pursue a controlled wind-down of
The company has next month on whether to remove several board its business and cease operations at the Lancaster
suffered a number directors. field,” it said, noting the project would then be
of setbacks at its It has been a tumultuous year for Hurricane, decommissioned after June 2022.
Lancaster fractured which is developing the Lancaster field to the Hurricane encountered a new production
basement field. west of the Shetland Islands (WoS), which con- issue at Lancaster on June 8, when the electric
tains complex fractured basement reservoirs so submersible pump tripped, causing its sole
far untapped in the UK. Following a string of well to be shut in. The well was producing at
complications at the site, Hurricane significantly a rate of 11,020 bpd with an associated water
downsized its resource estimate for the field in cut of 31% on the previous day. It is on natu-
September 2020. Earlier that year it had been ral flow now while Hurricane investigates the
forced to shut in one of Lancaster’s two wells cause of the trip and whether the pump can
because of flow instability, making its 20,000 bar- be restarted.
rel per day (bpd) plateau target for oil production An extraordinary general meeting (AGM)
no longer possible. will take place on July 5, in which shareholders
Hurricane warned on June 4 it might have to will vote on whether to remove five non-execu-
wind down its business unless it is able to obtain tive directors. The vote was proposed by Crys-
a shorter charter extension for the Aoka Mizu tal Amber, which has a 14.3% interest in the oil
FPSO stationed at Lancaster. It said it did not company.
want to extend the charter from June 2022 until Crystal said in March there had been a “dra-
June 2025 on current terms. Hurricane is con- matic deterioration” in its relationship with the
tinuing talks with the vessel’s owner Bluewater five board members. It said on June 7 that the
Energy on securing a shorter-term extension. group, comprising Steven McTiernan, David
“The company believes there is a reasonable Jenkins, John van der Welle, Sandy Shaw and
prospect of negotiating such an extension of the Beverley Smith, had been “evasive and obstruc-
existing contract on acceptable terms,” Hurri- tive.” It called for a new board to convene at the
cane said, cautioning that there was no guarantee “earliest opportunity.”™

Equinor hits oil near Visund field

NORWAY NORWAY’S Equinor has made a minor oil dis- year,” the company’s senior vice-president for
covery near the Visund field in the North Sea, exploration and production south, Rune Nadre-
Equinir is partnered the company reported on June 14. While small gaard, commented. “The discovery is in line with
at the permit with Var in size, the find may be developed via a tie-back our roadmap of exploring near existing infra-
Energi and Aker BP. to the Garantiana project. structure in order to increase the commerciality.”
Equinor drilled the wildcat well 34/6-5 S that Equinor is partnered at the permit where the
made the discovery at production licence (PL) discovery was made with Var Energi and Aker
554. It is estimated to hold between 8 and 23mn BP.
barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate
The discovery marks a continuation of a suc- (NPD) said separately on June 14 that the target
cessful drilling programme for Equinor. The of Equinor’s well was to prove petroleum in the
company hailed Norway’s first discovery of the Cook and Nansen formations in Early Juras-
year in January near the Troll gas field in the sic reservoir rocks. The well encountered an
North Sea, estimated to be 44-69mn boe of oil 86-metre oil column. It test-flowed at a rate of
and gas in size. This was followed up by the dis- 550 cubic metres of oil and 22,000 cubic metres
covery of 31-50mn boe near Johan Sverdrup in of gas per day. ™
the Barents Sea in early March, ending a streak
of dry wells in the frontier region.
Equinor then made the biggest find of
the year in late March near the Fram oilfield,
assessed at 75-120mn boe in size. It found more
oil and gas near the Tyrihans field in the Norwe-
gian Sea in April.
“This is the first Equinor-operated well in the
production licence, and the fifth discovery on
the Norwegian [Continental] Shelf [NCS] this

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