
Edinburgh-registered Premier Oil is expected to formally confirm the £435 million first-phase of the Tolmount field – one of the biggest new gas fields to be discovered in the N. Sea for 20 years – by the end of this month.
Premier Oil is about to start front end engineering design (FEED) work, with first gas expected at the end of 2020.
Stuart Wheaton, Premier Oil’s director & UK business unit head, said it is the biggest discovery made in the southern North Sea for about 20 years and invited supply chain companies to contact the project to register their interest.
Premier bought its 50% stake in Tolmount from E.ON last year; Dana Petroleum holds the other 50%
Believed to hold more than 500 billion cubic feet of gas, Tolmount will be served by an unmanned platform with four initial wells and a new pipeline transporting gas to the Yorkshire shore.
Wheaton added: “We have a really attractive project that’s about to start. It’s happening and, probably in one or two weeks’ time, you’ll see more agreements being put in place that will confirm that we’re really going to start. It’s really close.”
“Many supply chain prospects and major tenders for construction work, operations and maintenance and “all manner of opportunities lie ahead.
“We are involved in collaborative working. There is clearly an opportunity in the region in Tolmount. Much of the project is close to wind turbine projects and it is about being collaborative with wind and understanding the territory.”