UK North Sea oil and gas producer Serica Energy plc on Wednesday cut its production guidance, again, amid persistent issues with the Triton FPSO platform operated by Dana Petroleum.
An issue with the flare system on the Triton FPSO resulted in a temporary suspension of production from September 30, Serica Energy said today.
“The operator has advised that production is likely to restart shortly, with rates that are expected to be severely limited until the root cause of the problem is identified and resolved,” the company said.
As a result of the new production setback on the Triton platform and the deferred production, Serica now expects production to be below the previously communicated guidance range of 29,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to 32,000 boepd.
A month ago, a vibration issue within the compression trains on the Triton FPSO led to work being undertaken on a compressor, which was subsequently completed on September 23.
“It is incredibly frustrating to once again be reporting on a non-operated asset that should be performing better than it is,” Serica’s CEO Chris Cox said on Wednesday.
“We are stepping up talks with the operator regarding the future running of the Triton FPSO, aiming to deliver a more robust performance for all stakeholders with production levels that match the subsurface potential.”
The new setback at the non-operated Triton asset comes a week after Serica said it is expanding its footprint in the UK North Sea with the acquisition of assets from Prax Group that would give it stakes and operatorships of additional oil and gas field in one of the world’s most mature offshore basins.
Following the deal, Serica will have a 40% operated interest in the Greater Laggan Area (GLA), a 10% interest in the Catcher Field, a 5.21% interest in the Golden Eagle Area Development (GEAD), and a 100% interest in the Lancaster field.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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