Pohokura production cut for second time this year

Pohokura production cut for second time this year

By Gavin Evans

Sept. 28 (BusinessDesk) - Shell says it is too soon to say when it will restore full production from the Pohokura gas field.

The field off the Taranaki coast is the country’s biggest, typically delivering more than 70 PJ of gas annually.

Shell said it shut production from the project’s unmanned offshore platform as a precaution last week after discovering a shutdown valve – the last before the pipeline to shore - was not operating as it should. Output from the project's onshore wells is unaffected.

“We have full hydrocarbon containment with the wells shut-in securely and workstreams have been initiated to support further testing and potential change-out of this valve,” Shell said in an emailed statement.

“We cannot confirm when production will restart until the valve has been fully assessed.”

Pohokura is owned by Shell, OMV and Todd Energy. The $1 billion development was commissioned in 2006 and delivers gas from five offshore wells and three wells drilled from onshore. Methanol maker Methanex is among its biggest customers.

Earlier this year the venture halted production from the platform while suspected leaks in the pipeline were investigated. Production from the field’s onshore wells continued throughout that shutdown which ended in July.

Shell said there is no risk to people or the environment from the latest shutdown. The issue with the valve is unrelated to remediation work on the pipeline, it said.

(BusinessDesk)

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