U.S.-based Apache made a 10 million-barrel light oil discovery in the North Sea on Friday, according to a new press release.
The Garten discovery is just a few miles away from the Beryl Alpha platform, which will began extracting fuel from the site by 2019. Since 2015, explorers have struck the Callater, Corona, and Storr discoveries in the area.
"The Garten discovery marks our fourth commercial discovery in the Beryl area in the past three years spanning several play types ranging from the Tertiary to the Triassic," CEO John Christmann said. "Apache's strategy to focus on exploration near operated facilities is set to deliver significant production without the long cycle time of large scale projects."
New technology has made Apache's North Sea discoveries possible, according to Andy Samuel, the CEO of Oil and Gas Authority.
"Garten marks the 2500th offshore exploration well on the UK Continental Shelf and is an excellent start for exploration drilling in 2018," Samuel said. "Apache has created new opportunities by consistently investing in high-quality 3D seismic data to uncover near-field prospectivity around the prolific Beryl Field. Modern data and the application of new technologies are key to stimulating exploration and successfully delivering the full potential of the UKCS."
Related: Saudi Oil Minister Expects Oil Cuts To Extend Into 2019
Analysts Wood Mackenzie also chimed in via an emailed statement: "Apache has done it again at Beryl with 10 million barrels discovered at its Garten prospect. Hot on the heels of Callater, Corona and Storr, that's more than 85 million barrels discovered in the area since 2015."
The oil industry is expected to increase spending in the North Sea, and the number of projects that could receive a greenlight is set to rise this year for the first time in half a decade. That would translate into additional spending of about 5 billion pounds and the production of 450 million barrels of oil equivalent over time.
By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Zainab Calcuttawala is an American journalist based in Morocco. She completed her undergraduate coursework at the University of Texas at Austin (Hook’em) and reports on… More
Comments
The world consumes almost 100 million barrels a day. So the total amount discovered in this area over the last few years wouldn't even supply the world for one day.