Production Shut In at Catcher After Fire
This article was first published on Rigzone here
Premier Oil (OTCMKTS: PMOIY) revealed Thursday that a fire broke out onboard the Catcher FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading unit) on November 9, which resulted in production being shut in.
The fire, which was located in the electrical equipment (HVAC switchboard) in the main store room, was swiftly and safely extinguished and no personnel were injured in the incident, Premier Oil noted. The company stated on Thursday that BWO, the operator of the FPSO, was working to reinstate the HVAC which would enable production to restart within the next week.
Premier Oil’s operated Catcher Area, which is located within the UK Continental Shelf and is the company’s largest producer, averaged 26,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, net, to the end of October, according to the company.
Premier Oil first acquired an interest in the Catcher Area as part of its 2009 Oilexco acquisition. The company increased its interest in asset from 15 percent to 50 percent in 2012 as a result of its EnCore acquisition and acquired operatorship. The Catcher discovery was made by an exploration well drilled in May 2010. The development concept for the Catcher Area was formally agreed by partners in December 2013, government approval was received in June 2014 and first oil was delivered on December 23, 2017.
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According to its website, Premier Oil is an independent upstream oil and gas company with a long history of operating and executing production and development projects. Last month, the company revealed that it had reached an agreement with Harbour’s UK operating company Chrysaor, regarding a proposed all share merger between Premier and Chrysaor.
Premier Oil highlighted that the transaction will create the largest independent oil and gas company listed on the London Stock Exchange with combined production of over 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
“The merger with Chrysaor, which will create a combined group with diversity, scale and balance sheet strength, is progressing to plan,” Tony Durrant, Premier Oil’s chief executive, said in a statement posted on the company’s website on Thursday.
“We now have creditor approval and we expect to publish the prospectus in December, with completion on track for the first quarter of 2021,” he added in the statement.
To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com
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