- The Northern Gas fields West of Shetland offer one of the most exciting prospects in British offshore waters.
- INEOS today has agreed to buy a majority share in two exploration licenses in the Northern Gas Fields West of Shetland which contains the Lyon prospect.
- INEOS now has positions in the four fields that make up the Lyon cluster: Lyon, Tobermory, Bunnehaven and Cragganmore.
- Initial survey work indicates extensive gas reserves in the cluster of between 3 – 5 trillion cubic feet of gas in place. This would match major gas fields such as Elgin Franklin, Britannia and Laggan Tormore.
- Geir Tuft INEOS Oil & Gas CEO commented “INEOS intends to become a significant player in this area. This deal confirms our aim to take a leading role to develop the Northern Gas Fields using the significant infrastructure investments already made West of Shetland.”
INEOS UK SNS Limited has today agreed to take a majority share in two exploration licenses in the Northern Gas Fields West of Shetland which contains the Lyon prospect, from Siccar Point Energy E&P Limited. The deal complements the significant INEOS portfolio of producing assets and discoveries West of Shetland, recently acquired from DONG E&P.
Completion of the transaction remains subject to customary regulatory consents.
A significant opportunity now exists for INEOS to unlock gas from the most northerly licenced area of the UKCS, 150 km north of the Shetland Islands.
In particular Lyon, a material prospect that is thought to contain 1-3 trillion cubic feet recoverable gas. If successful it could be large enough to form a new gas-hub development similar to the Laggan-Tormore fields, which have been developed with sub-sea infrastructure and pipelines to the Shetland Gas Plant. Existing gas discoveries in the Lyon area such as Tobermory, Bunnehaven and Cragganmore would all be suitable tie-back candidates into a Lyon gas hub.
Geir Tuft INEOS Oil & Gas CEO said “INEOS intends to become a significant player in this area. This deal confirms our aim to take a leading role to develop the Northern Gas Fields using the significant infrastructure investments already made West of Shetland.”
“With the purchase of the DONG E&P business earlier in the year, INEOS took over a significant portfolio of producing assets and discoveries West of Shetland. It is clear that the Northern Gas Area holds further opportunities that could help unlock the development of those discoveries. The deal with Siccar compliments our assets.”
Siccar Point Energy’s CEO Jonathan Roger commented “As licence operator, we are excited to be moving forward in conjunction with INEOS to drill the Lyon prospect. This represents an opportunity to unlock the material gas potential of the most northerly licenced area of the UKCS. We look forward to working with INEOS in this new exploration partnership and to operating our first exploration well.”
| Licence | Blocks | SPE E&P Ltd.interest before farmout | SPE E&P Ltd.interest after farmout | INEOS interest after farmout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P.1854 | 208/1b, 208/2, 208/3b, 217/27b, 217/28b | 100.0% | 33.334% | 66.666% |
| P.1935 | 217/22a, 217/23a, 217/24a | 100.0% | 33.334% | 66.666% |
ENDS.
For further information:
INEOS: Richard Longden, +41 21 627 7063, richard.longden@ineos.com
Siccar Point Energy: Gail Regan, +44(0)1224 678008, gail.regan@siccarpointenergy.co.uk
Andrew McLachlan (Media Zoo) 020 7384 6980 or 07931 377162
Joseph Wade (Media Zoo) 020 7284 6980 or 07758 074576
Note to editors:
INEOS
INEOS is one of the largest chemicals companies and the 200th largest businesses in the world. It employs around 18,500 people across 105 sites in 22 countries with sales last year of $40bn. The company has grown rapidly in the petrochemicals sector over the past 20 years, with more recent focus broadening its activity into the Upstream E&P sector. INEOS is currently a Top 10 company and the biggest private enterprise operating in the North Sea. Its oil and gas activities comprise five different businesses including INEOS Shale, focused on onshore gas development; INEOS Breagh operating in the UK southern North Sea; INEOS FPS, which runs the Forties Pipeline System, recently acquired from BP; INEOS Upstream Services; and INEOS DeNoS, acquired from DONG E&P with its activities in Denmark, Norway and west of Shetland. It has over 900 employees and capabilities to take on further projects and growth. www.ineos.com
Siccar Point Energy
Siccar Point Energy is a full cycle production, development and exploration company focussed on high quality, low cost, long life assets on the UK Continental Shelf. The Company’s strategy is to build a portfolio of assets where they can utilise their extensive North Sea experience to create value through follow-on investment and reserves growth. They have interests in three of the largest UK assets by remaining reserves (Schiehallion, Mariner and Rosebank) as well as an extensive portfolio of additional high-quality material development and exploration opportunities. The Company is led by CEO Jonathan Roger and is headquartered in Aberdeen. For more information please visit www.siccarpointenergy.co.uk