Vermilion Energy’s Corrib Gas Field sales top €14m
The Canadian firm owns an 18.5% share in the €3.6bn project. Based on Vermilion’s Corrib sales between January and March of this year, the total sales from the field for the three partners would have amounted to more than $91.89m.
Production finally started on the field on December 30, 2015, after delays saw the partners spend €3.6bn on the scheme — more than four times the original €800m estimate.
Vermilion’s results for the first quarter, published yesterday, provide the first detailed insight into the earning power of the Corrib Gas field off the Mayo coast.
The quarterly report stated that production from the Corrib field had been strong since gas first flowed last December.
According to Vermilion’s quarterly report, production for the first quarter was the equivalent of 30,540 barrels of oil per day, but the firm expects production volumes at Corrib to rise to an estimated peak rate of the equivalent of 52,432 barrels of oil per day.
Vermilion states that five of the six wells are capable of production, with the remaining well to be brought online in the third quarter of 2016 after conclusion of the partners’ offshore work programme.
According to the report, Vermilion has “experienced robust well deliverability and minimal downtime”.
“Corrib remains one of the drivers of our 2016 and 2017 production growth, and is expected to be an important contributor to free cash-flow in this and coming years.”
In the three-month period, Vermilion incurred a further $3m in capital expenditure.
The report states that Vermilion expects per-unit costs to decrease as production ramps up, while general and administration expenses increased quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year due to increased corporate allocations as a result of achieving the first full quarter of production.
The Corrib Natural Gas project was officially launched in January and the field has a projected lifespan of between 15 and 20 years.
More than 6,000 people have worked on bringing Corrib gas to market, with the development to sustain 175 jobs over 15 to 20 years.
Six wells have been drilled at the Corrib field, with gas transported to the Bellanaboy Bridge Gas Terminal through a 20-inch pipeline.
At peak production, Shell claims Corrib has the potential to meet up to 60% of Ireland’s gas needs.
The project is a joint venture between Shell E&P Ireland Limited (45%), Statoil Exploration Ireland Limited (36.5%), and Vermilion Energy Ireland Limited (18.5%).
