Spirit Energy to take on operatorship of North Sea gas field

Oil and gas operator Spirit Energy will take on the operatorship of a UK gas field in which it holds a 13 per cent share, it was confirmed today.

Spirit Energy will take on operatorship of the Babbage gas field. Picture: contributed.

The company reached an agreement with its joint venture partners to take on operatorship of the Babbage gas field in the North Sea, and will do the same at the nearby Cobra discovery, in which it holds a 50 per cent interest.

It also announced additional plans to drill an exploration well at the adjacent Python prospect next year to further access reserves in the region.

Transfer of the operatorship is subject to completion of the divestment of existing operator Premier Oil’s interests to Verus Petroleum, as well as securing the relevant regulatory approvals.

Chief executive of Spirit Energy, Chris Cox, said: “Becoming operator at Babbage is an excellent adjustment to Spirit Energy’s portfolio.

“It is an asset and an area we know well and we are looking forward to working with our partners to maximise the value of the field.

“With an exploration well at the nearby Python prospect to come in the second quarter of 2019, we see significant opportunities to build on the greater Babbage area and boost production further from a field which is expected to produce gas for many years to come.”

The Babbage field, which first started producing gas in 2010, is an installation 55 miles off the east coast of the UK. So far this year it has a year-to-date average production of around 5,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day.