IOG spuds first Blythe well in UK North Sea

London-listed IOG has spudded its first well at the Blythe field in the UK south North Sea, the company said in a stock filing on August 3, noting that first gas was expected in the fourth quarter.

The junior operator is developing the Blythe, Elgood and Southwark fields as part of the first phase of a joint development project with partner CalEnergy Resources, a unit of US investment group Berkshire Hathaway. It spudded its first development well at Elgood in April, and the well at Blythe is its second.

The Blythe well is expected to take three months to complete, after which the Noble Hans Deul jack-up rig will move on to drill at the Southwark field.

"We have a very clear collective focus on ensuring safe and efficient performance leading successfully to first gas in Q4 2021 from the Blythe hub before continuing into 2022 at Southwark," IOG CEO Andrew Hockey said.

The second phase of IOG's project will exploit the Goddard, Nailsworth and Elland fields. Together the two phases aim to recover 410bn ft3 of gas. IOG struck a deal in July to sell gas from Elgood and Southwark and later Nailsworth and Elland to the trading arm of Russia's Gazprom.

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