British independent oil and gas company Serica Energy has announced the spud of the Columbus 23/16f-CDev1 development well in the UK Central North Sea.
The Maersk Resilient Heavy Duty Jack Up rig is being used to drill the well to a total depth of 17,600ft. The drilling operations are expected to be conducted for a period of around 70 days.
Located 35km north east of the Shearwater production facilities, the Columbus development area is estimated to contain undeveloped 2P reserves of more than 14m barrels of oil equivalent (boe).
Production from the Columbus development is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2021. It is estimated to have average gross production of around 7,000 boe/d, with more than 70% of it containing gas.
The Columbus development area is planned to be drained by a single producing well tied into the existing Arran to Shearwater pipeline.
With a stake of 50%, Serica is the operator of the Columbus development. Waldorf Production UK and Tailwind Mistral are its partners, with each owning a stake of 25%.
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