BG, Conoco, Eni make big North Sea find

On Sept. 1, Britain’s BG Group, whose subsidiary entered Alaska this past year as Anadarko Petroleum’s partner in the gas-prone Brooks Range Foothills, announced what appears to be the biggest North Sea natural gas discovery in five years. Field operator ConocoPhillips and Eni UK are partners in the new gas condensate field that straddles blocks P011 and P0032 30/7a.

An initial exploration well was drilled earlier this year and a sidetrack confirmed the presence of a substantial hydrocarbon accumulation, BG said.

BG, a North Sea explorer and producer with five discoveries under its belt in the last 12 months, called the discovery “substantial” and said that it could be developed quickly because it is close to existing infrastructure. The company said the field is the largest since the Buzzard oil field was discovered in 2001 and estimated its recoverable reserves at between 100 million and 275 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Buzzard, due to come online later this year, has recoverable reserves of 500 million barrels.

“This is one of the largest recent North Sea discoveries and represents a highly attractive near-term, near-infrastructure project,” said Mark Carne, executive vice president, Europe and Central Asia for BG. “It once again reinforces the prospects for our UK exploration and production business and shows the continued prosperity of the North Sea.”

After further delineation drilling, BG said it hopes the partners will sanction the field in 2007 and bring it online in 2010.

ConocoPhillips holds a 36.5 percent interest in the new field, Eni has 33 percent and BG 30.5 percent.

—Petroleum News