North Sea driller EnQuest hails '˜excellent' progress

EnQuest today said its drilling performance so far this year has been 'excellent' as it announced a new discovery in the central North Sea.

EnQuest has unveiled its latest discovery in the North Sea. Picture: Contributed

The firm, which earlier this year said it would be cutting up to 45 jobs in Aberdeen as the oil downturn continues to bite, made the discovery near its Eagle exploration well in the Greater Kittiwake Area (GKA).

“The encouraging results of the initial analysis lead EnQuest to anticipate gross total recoverable reserves to be a similar size to those in the nearby Gadwall producing oil field,” the company said.

Gadwall, which is also part of the GKA and resumed production in the second half of last year, is estimated to contain about six million barrels of recoverable oil.

EnQuest also has a stake in the huge Kraken prospect east of Shetland, which is expected to deliver its first oil in the first half of next year.

Neil McCulloch, the group’s president for North Sea operations, said: “Drilling performance in the central North Sea this year has been excellent, both ahead of schedule and under budget.

“Following last year’s production growth and unit operating cost reduction successes at GKA, this latest success demonstrates EnQuest’s ability to create value from maturing assets and from near-field exploration opportunities.”