UK's Serica hit by setback at North Sea Columbus gas development

The UK's Serica Energy said May 25 it had suffered a setback with the development well at its Columbus gas and condensate project in the UK North Sea.

The well was spudded in mid-March and Serica found that plans to install sand screens could not be realized, meaning the reservoir section of the well would need to be side-tracked and re-drilled.

The additional operations are expected to take around 3-4 weeks to complete. "These operations are not expected to affect the timing of production start-up which is still expected during Q4 2021," the company said.

Serica holds a 50% interest and is operator of the Columbus development alongside partners Waldorf Production and Tailwind both with 25% stakes.

Columbus will be connected to the Arran pipeline to take gas to the Shearwater platform, which is currently undergoing redevelopment.

At Shearwater, the gas and liquids will be separated, and the gas exported via the SEGAL line to St Fergus and the liquids through the Forties Pipeline System to Cruden Bay.

Production is expected to be around 7,000 b/d of oil equivalent, of which over 70% is gas.

"Whilst frustrating, the additional operations on Columbus are not expected to affect the timing of first production," Serica CEO Mitch Flegg said.

Rhum well

Serica is also developing a third production well at its Rhum field offshore the UK.

It said May 25 that the well had been cleared of all equipment installed when it was originally completed in 2005. "Reservoir access has been regained thus allowing new completion equipment to be run in preparation for production," it said.

"The new completion is currently being installed prior to performing a flow test on the well, which is expected to be carried out in June. A diving support vessel has been contracted to install the subsea control equipment required so the well can start producing in Q3 2021," it said.

Rhum is one of the UK's biggest gas producing fields, with production capacity at the two operational wells totaling a combined rate of almost 30,000 boe/d gross, of which over 95% is gas.

That equates to gas production capacity of close to 5 million cu m/d -- some 5% of the UK's average gas output.

The third well is designed to ensure the long-term viability of the field through reservoir management rather than to ramp up production further.

Having a third well would also give Serica the option of continuing high production from Rhum while carrying out any maintenance at the first two wells.

Rhum gas is carried via the Bruce platform to the St Fergus gas terminal.