Oil Giant Total Announces Major Gas Discovery Offshore UK

French multinational integrated oil and gas giant, Total announced a major gas discovery on the Glendronach prospect, located offshore UK West of Shetland.

The well was drilled to a final depth of 4,312 meters and encountered a gas column of 42 meters of net pay in a high quality lower Cretaceous reservoir.

Preliminary tests confirm good reservoir quality, permeability and well production deliverability, with recoverable resources estimated at about one trillion cubic feet (1 tcf), the company said in a statement.

Located on Block 206/04a, in-water depth of about 300 meters and in a formation below the Edradour reservoir, the discovery can be developed quickly with the existing infrastructure around the Edradour field and the Laggan-Tormore facilities of the Shetland Gas Plant.

“Glendronach is a significant discovery for Total which gives us access to additional gas resources in one of our core areas and validates our exploration strategy. Located on an emerging play of the prolific West of Shetland area, the discovery can be commercialized quickly and at low cost by leveraging the existing Laggan-Tormore infrastructure,” stated Arnaud Breuillac, President exploration and production at Total.

The Glendronach discovery is operated by Total E&P UK with a 60 per cent interest alongside partners Ineos E&P UK Limited (20 per cent) and SSE E&P UK Limited (20 per cent).

Total has been present in the United Kingdom for more than 50 years and is one of the country’s leading oil and gas operators, with equity production of 171 000 boe/d in the first half of 2018.

Total’s production in the United Kingdom comes principally from operated fields located offshore in three major zones, the Alwyn/Dunbar area in the Northern North Sea, the Elgin/Franklin area in the Central North Sea and the Laggan-Tormore hub in the West of Shetland area, and from recently acquired Maersk Oil assets.

Image: TOTAL