Wintershall starts production from second Sillimanite well
June 16, 2020
Wintershall Noordzee BV, a 50/50 joint venture between Wintershall Dea and Gazprom EP International, started production from b2, the second production well in Sillimanite gas field in the southern North Sea. The JV began drilling the well in February.
The field, discovered in 2015, lies about 200 km off the coast of Den Helder on the maritime border of the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. An agreement was reached to allow for development to proceed. Production begin early this year (OGJ Online, Feb. 20, 2020).
Produced gas from b2 will be transported through the newly laid 12-km pipeline connecting the B platform to the existing production platform, operated by Neptune Energy. Both facilities are in Dutch waters. From there, gas will be transported through the Noordgastransport BV system to shore.
A third exploration well, the Sillimanite South, is currently being drilled. If successful, the well will add gas to the export pipeline in fourth-quarter 2020.
Wintershall Noordzee BV is operator with 39.7%. Partners are EBN BV 25%, Gazprom International UK Ltd. 19.9%, Neptune Energy Netherlands BV 2.3%, Neptune Netherlands Participation BV 1.6%, Neptune E&P UK Ltd. 3.6%, ONE-Dyas BV 3.1%, and ONEDyas UK Ltd. 4.8%.
