Topsides work restricting output at Kraken floater in the North Sea

EnQuest has issued an update on its progress at the Kraken oil field development in the UK northern North Sea, which came on-stream on the 23^rd June.

Stabilised production rates from the six wells tested so far total around 30,000 b/d, which is roughly 60% of the 50,000 b/d plateau capability.

Performance of the injection wells has surpassed expectations, while the hydraulic submersible pumps, subsea production system, and turret have performed as expected.

Commissioning continues of the FPSO vessel topsides, and this has acted as a constraint on production. However, operational uptime should improve, with output reaching the forecast peak during the first half of 2018.

The drill centre 3 (DC3) wells are expected to be completed during the fourth quarter 2017, three to four months ahead of schedule.

As a result, EnQuest expects to achieve a further US$100 million of capex savings on the project, with lower market rates for the remaining subsea campaign another factor.

It now estimates full-cycle project capex at around US$2.4 billion, 25% below the originally sanctioned price of US$3.2 billion.