Premier Oil slows Sea Lion project to guard against falling oil prices
LONDON-based oil and gas exploration company Premier Oil yesterday announced plans to slow progress at its Sea Lion project in a bid to cut costs as protection from lowered oil prices.
Premier Oil chief executive Tony Durrant said that new projects would be sanctioned “if they are robust at our long term-oil price” – currently less than $80 a barrel.
The reduction will come from a reduced amount of wells drilled at the north and east part of the Sea Lion oil field. Currently, Premier expects to drill 10 firm exploration and appraisal wells over the next years, the first of which is expected to spud next month or January.
The Sea Lion project kicked off development during November 2012 in the North Falkland Basin, south east of Argentina.
Amid news of lowered oil prices, the company has also announced a 12.6 per cent increase in oil production, to 64,000 boepd, for the year’s first 10 months.
Durrant commented: “[This year] has seen strong operational performance from Premier as we continue to deliver on the key targets communicated to investors earlier in the year.”
Premier’s share price dipped by 1.62 per cent yesterday to close at 243.30p.