Serica Energy provides the following update on its Columbus field located in the Central North Sea.

To minimise environmental impact and associated processing equipment, Columbus hydrocarbons will flow into the Arran subsea system before processing on the Shell operated Shearwater platform. Shell have informed us that the Shearwater platform is currently operating at restricted capacity which will result in a delay to the start-up of Columbus production although it is still expected that first production will be achieved in Q4 this year.

As a result, Serica’s full year net production is expected to be slightly lower than the current guidance of 23,000 to 25,000 boe/d.

Mitch Flegg, Chief Executive of Serica Energy, commented:
"There will be no significant long-term impact resulting from this short delay to the Columbus start-up and I am pleased that the well is ready to produce as soon as the export system allows.

The result of this delay is that it is now likely that our full year production will be slightly lower than our previous production guidance. Net Serica production has been strong during September and October, averaging over 26,000boe/d from our BKR and Erskine fields during a period of strong commodity prices.

The use of existing infrastructure to progress the development of Columbus reinforces the benefit of Serica’s approach to providing much needed low carbon gas for the UK.

I would once again like to acknowledge the skill, hard-work and dedication of our operational team who are working closely with the Shearwater Operator to ensure that production begins at the earliest opportunity. I would also like to recognise the support of our joint venture partners Waldorf Production UK Ltd. and Tailwind Energy Ltd.”

KeyFacts Energy: Serica Energy UK country profile