Hartshead Resources clear to start development plan for UK gas fields

Hartshead is another step closer to phase 1 development of the Anning and Somerville offshore gas fields after receiving a Letter of No Objection from the UK North Sea Transition Authority.

The letter paves the way for the company to prepare and submit a Field Development Plan for its UK Southern Gas Basin project.

Hartshead Resources’ (ASX:HHR) plan consists of six production wells connected to two wireline-capable Normally Unmanned Installation (NUI) platforms to access the combined proved and probable reserves of 301.5 billion cubic feet of gas at the two fields.

These platforms will in turn transport the extracted gas via a subsea pipeline to third party infrastructure for onward transportation and processing into the UK’s gas transmission network.

Peak production is estimated to be about 140 million standard cubic feet per day with first production expected in late 2024.

The company now intends to progress its Phase 1 development through the front-end engineering and design stage and submission of the FDP prior to making a final investment decision.

Growing interest

With energy supplies being constrained by a combination of previous underinvestment and geopolitical tensions, it is unsurprising that Hartshead has been fielding queries from several industry players into its UK Southern Gas Basin development.

This is further supported by the UK’s new Windfall Tax, which includes an Investment Allowance that makes new developments more attractive, leading Hartshead to appoint LAB Energy Advisors in June to provide advice on the investment process for industry partnering.

Phase 1 marks the start of the company’s ambitions in the project, with Phase 2 involving the development of the Hodgkin and Lovelace fields, which host further 2C Contingent Resources totalling 139Bcf, while the third phase contains new exploration prospects in its inventory that currently hosts Prospective Resources of 344Bcf.

This article was developed in collaboration with Hartshead Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.