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Ithaca Energy Updates Ops at Stella Project; Secures Takeaway

Share Print Bookmark    |    Friday,June 24,2016

Ithaca Energy Inc. reported an update on the status of the on-going Greater Stella Area development programme.

Highlights:

• Good progress has been made on the final stages of the "FPF-1" commissioning programme and completion of the various system handovers to operations is imminent. Preparation of the FPF-1 for departure from the shipyard in Poland is well advanced and the vessel is expected to be ready for sail-away to the Stella field by the end of this month or early in July 2016
• Access has been secured to a major oil export pipeline for future GSA production, allowing a switch from tanker loading during 2017. The move to pipeline exports significantly enhances the long term value of the GSA production hub, reducing fixed operating costs, enhancing operational uptime and improving reserves recovery

Greater Stella Area Update

The FPF-1 modifications programme, which is being completed by Petrofac in the Remontowa shipyard in Poland is in the final stages of completion, with only a limited number of commissioning activities requiring close out prior to sail-away.

Commissioning operations on the FPF-1 have continued to progress well over recent weeks and are now materially complete. The operations team have been living on the vessel since May, the marine works have been finished and the engineering teams are in the process of closing out handover of the various processing and utilities systems to the operations team. The planned vessel inclination test remains to be performed, following which the FPF-1 will be moved to a location off the coast of Gdansk for the final marine system trials prior to being towed to the field.

It is anticipated that the period from sail-away to first hydrocarbons will be approximately three months. Following towing of the FPF-1 to the field, the vessel will be moored on location using twelve pre-installed anchor chains. The dynamic risers and umbilicals that connect the subsea infrastructure to the vessel will then be installed. Thereafter, commissioning of the various processing and utility systems requiring hydrocarbons from the field will be completed. First production from the Stella field is anticipated in late September 2016.

Greater Stella Area Oil Export Pipeline

Access has been secured to the Norpipe oil pipeline system, allowing oil exports from the GSA to transfer from tanker export to pipeline export during 2017. This will significantly reduce the fixed operating costs of the GSA facilities and enhance operational uptime, resulting in improved reserves recovery and increasing the long term value of the GSA as a production hub.

The key work associated with creating a connection to the system has been successfully executed as part of a fast-track operational programme undertaken during the planned 2016 pipeline maintenance shutdown. Acceleration of this work was made possible as a result of a conventional tie-in point on the system being vacated by a third-party field disconnecting from the pipeline. This provided a unique opportunity for a lower cost, lower risk connection to be made.

Norpipe runs approximately 350 kilometres from the Ekofisk offshore production facilities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to a dedicated oil processing facility at Teesside in the UK, with various UK fields exporting into the system via a spurline.

In addition the Company has taken advantage of the downturn in industry activity to secure attractive contracting terms, including a lump sum contract for the installation of the 44 kilometre pipeline required from the FPF-1 to the Norpipe system.

The net capital expenditure associated with the work programme is approximately $20 million, with the majority being paid in 2017.