New lease of life for Northern Producer

Sea Production Limited has extended its contract with Petrofac Facilities Management for the provision of operations services on board the Northern Producer to July 2006.

The Northern Producer, the floating production installation located on the Talisman operated Galley Field, is managed by Petrofac on behalf of Sea Production Limited. The  field is located in Block 15/23a in the UKCS. Petrofac provides the onshore and offshore  operations team and facilities engineering support.

The Northern Producer is one of the North Sea’s success stories. When the project started  in 1998, it was forecast to have a lifespan of approximately 4 years and was regarded as a  relatively short-term proposition. Seven years from first production, the field has  produced nearly 55 million barrels. In achieving this the Northern Producer team has  achieved world-class production uptime performance since field start up.

Petrofac has an extensive track record, including a number of life-of-field and mature  asset management contracts in the North Sea. The contract value is in excess of £15  million and secures the ongoing employment of over 70 personnel. John Methven, director Operations Management, Petrofac Facilities Management Europe, said: “The Northern Producer is a tribute to what can be done with a focused & collaborative management team offshore and onshore. We are delighted at the decision by  Sea Production to extend the contract with Petrofac. This is also a demonstration of the  clear commitment by Talisman to the Galley Field, to enhance production with a safe & cost effective operation. Since purchasing the Galley field from ChevronTexaco in early  2004, Talisman has injected a new lease of life into the field’s longer term prospects.”