The Babbage field development was approved by the UK authorities in 2009 and is being executed in two phases. Total investment in the development will amount to around GBP300m.
Phase one has included the installation of the Babbage platform in September 2009, the drilling of three production wells and the laying of a 28km pipeline to connect the field to existing UK gas infrastructure.
Two further wells are planned for phase two in 2011. Following the completion of phase two, the Babbage field is expected to produce at rates of up to 70 million cubic feet of gas per day, which is approximately 12,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. It is also expected to produce more than five billion cubic meters of natural gas, with a field life of 20 years.
Additional potential for future production exists in the south-east of the Babbage accumulation. Consideration will be given to developing this area following analysis of production data from the phase one and phase two wells, which are focused on the north-west of the Babbage field.
Tom Cross, chief executive of Dana, said: “The start of production at Babbage adds further value to the Dana Group and achieves another of Dana’s key targets for 2010.
“The group now produces oil and gas from a total of 37 fields and expects to very shortly complete the acquisition of Petro Canada Netherlands, which significantly increases Dana’s operating capability and production base in the North Sea. In addition, Dana is delivering further value by driving forward its operated developments at the Western Isles oil fields and the Arran gas fields in the UK North Sea.”
