Introduction

Orcadian Energy was established in early 2014 by petroleum engineers and geologists. The company has four licences, three of which lie 150km due East of Aberdeen and just West of the Gannet field and the Anasuria and Triton FPSOs, in an area known as the Western Platform. These licences are rich in resources and highly prospective, sixteen of seventeen wells (and sidetracks) drilled on our blocks have encountered oil. Take a look through the history page to see when (and with which rig) all those wells were drilled.

Orcadian has focussed on viscous oil development opportunities in the Central North Sea. We know the UKCS well and the OGA is a consistent and reliable regulator. Water depths in our core acreage are relatively shallow at c. 80-90 metres and the reservoirs are also not very deep at only c. 800 metres, so wells can be drilled on wellhead platforms, with dry trees, from a typical North Sea jack-up rig. These conditions combine to minimise well cost thus enabling tight development well spacings, which are the key to a successful and profitable polymer flood approach.

Pilot is very well appraised with high quality modern 3D seismic and seven reservoir penetrations. The field has 79mmbbls of proven plus probable reserves, based upon the low salinity polymer flood development plan described in the concept select report submitted to the OGA in September of 2020. We updated the Concept Select Report during 2021 and submitted a CSR Addendum on 1st July 2021. The selected concept calls for an FPSO and two wellhead platforms from which over thirty wells will be drilled, with some of the energy required coming from a floating wind turbine.

Delivering a fully financed project is the next step and we shall seek farm-in partners in parallel with a process to structure a contractor alliance to deliver the project with a minimised equity requirement.