UK Government to fast-track five North Sea oil and gasfields

North Sea oil and gas projects are included in a list of infrastructure projects the UK Government is aiming to fast-track.

Among those in line to be accelerated are Ithaca Energy’s Cambo project, BP’s Murlach field, and Harbour Energy’s Talbot subsea development.

The Victory gasfield and Neo Energy’s Affleck redevelopment also made the cut.

A variety of offshore wind, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects have been named too.

Westminster wants construction to start on a “vast majority” of the initiatives picked by the end of next year.

Planning reform, regulatory changes and improved processes will all be explored in order to “speed up their development and construction”.

Streamlining offensive

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng today laid out numerous measures designed to boost growth, including rolling back disliked IR35 tax laws.

He said: “Our planning system for major infrastructure is too slow and fragmented.

“The time it takes to get consent for nationally significant projects is getting slower, not quicker, while our international competitors forge ahead. We have to end this.

“We can announce that in the coming months, we will bring forward a new bill to unpick the complex patchwork of planning restrictions and EU derived laws that constrain our growth.

“We will streamline a whole host of assessments, appraisals, consultations, duplications and regulations.”

Faster decisions

Mr Kwarteng added: “We will also review the government’s business case process to speed up decision-making and, today, we are publishing a list of infrastructure projects that will be prioritised for acceleration in sectors like transport, energy and telecoms.”

Westminster has been pushing hard to increase North Sea oil and gas flows, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

After a tricky few years for the sector, when it became something of a whipping boy for politicians, companies are now readying for a bow wave of work and optimism is high.

The famous five

Mr Kwarteng’s decision to include the first phase of Cambo will undoubtedly attract the ire of environmental groups.

For much of the last year the 175 million barrel west of Shetland project was campaigners’ most wanted criminal, with numerous protests taking place against it.

Cambo had looked dead in the water when Shell pulled out of the project, leaving Siccar Point Energy –  since acquired by Ithaca – to go it alone.

Also located in the west of Shetland is the Victory discovery, which Reabold Resources recently sold to an unnamed oil and gas major.

Oil giant BP announced earlier this year it was pressing ahead with plans to develop the Murlach oil and gasfield.

The project is expected to recover 25.9 million barrels of oil and about 21,260 cubic feet of gas, produced through a two-well tie-back to the Etap production hub.

Murlach is a redevelopment of the Skua field which was in production in the early 2000s, then operated by Shell.

An environmental statement (ES) for the Talbot subsea development was lodged in the summer, with a view to reaching first oil in Q3 2024.

Harbour Energy’s Talbot asset lies around 170 miles south-east of Peterhead.

Recoverable reserves on the field are estimated at around 18.1 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Neo has also submitted an ES for the proposed redevelopment of the Affleck field, 178 miles south-east of Aberdeen.

With first oil slated for 2024, peak production from that project is expected to be 5,218 barrels of oil a day.

No joy for Acorn CCS project

While North Sea oil and gas bosses may be toasting the chancellor, there was less good news for Aberdeenshire’s Acorn CCS project – it is not on the fast-tracking list.

Nick Cooper, chief executive of renewables firm Storegga – Acorn’s driving force – called on the government to “act soon”, lamenting a lack of change.

Mr Cooper said: “We’re still waiting to unleash the billions of pent-up private sector investment ready to support the development of the Scottish Cluster of decarbonisation technologies in Aberdeenshire.

“We also have no update on the green freeport bid process, which would act as an investment zone.”