Dutch gas producer Tulip boosts output from key Q10 field by 27% in Q4

London — Dutch gas producer Tulip Oil increased output from its key Q10 offshore gas field in the fourth quarter by 27% compared with Q3, the company said Tuesday.

Tulip -- which began production from Q10 in February last year -- has said the field has the potential to become the "largest single offshore producing asset in the Netherlands."

The ramping up of production at Q10 comes as domestic Dutch gas output continues to fall due to the government-imposed production cap at the onshore Groningen field, which is due to be closed in 2022.

Tulip said in a statement Tuesday that the Q10 field produced 258 million cu m of gas in Q4 -- an average of 2.8 million cu m/d -- compared with 203 million cu m in Q3.

The average realized gas price for Q10 gas during the quarter was Eur12.40/MWh, it said, up from Eur10.40/MWh in Q3.

The realized Q4 price was in line with the average TTF day-ahead price in Q4 of Eur12.48/MWh, according to S&P Global Platts assessments.

"Production continues from four wells and plans for two further wells are in progress," the company said.

Tulip also said Tuesday that conceptual field development plans had been drafted for additional drilling targets near the Q10 field.

The targets consist predominantly of reservoirs that have been drilled historically and flowed gas to surface, similar to Q10.

Dutch production

The Q10 field development plan is based around the Q10-A platform, which has a total facility capacity of 5 million cu m/d.

Total Dutch production in Q4 averaged 90 million cu m/d, according to data from S&P Global Platts Analytics.

Tulip operates Q10 with a 60% stake. Its partner is Dutch upstream company EBN, which holds the remaining 40%.

The field was discovered in 2015 and is 20 km offshore the Netherlands in a shallow water environment.

Tulip was awarded a production license for the field in July 2017 by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs.