Serica announces further production delays at Erskine Field operations

Oil and gas exploration and production company, Serica Energy announced on Tuesday that production in its Erskine Field project was set to start up again within the last week.

However, production operations at the field, which were suspended for facilities maintenance on 31 July, were expected to be deferred for another two weeks as methanol and xylene components used in the wax treatment were monitored and controlled.

On completion of this process, the wells will be flowed at maximum rates to sufficiently clear treated wax from the pipeline before going forward with further chemical treatment that would allow pigging to begin in the line.

Serica amended its full-year production guidance down to between 2,200 and 2,400 barrels of oil equivalents per day (boepd).

"Although the pipeline de-waxing procedures have taken longer than planned by the Lomond operator and Erskine production will resume later than we were expecting, the underlying field capability remains strong and we expect production to pick up as soon as the current restrictions are resolved," said executive chairman, Tony Craven.

"On the wider front, Serica continues to make good progress on all of its plans and Erskine's production since acquisition has provided us with a healthy cash balance. We are advancing our objectives to expand the Company's resources and add to our production base in parallel with moving our Columbus plans forward. We expect to release our results for the first half of the year towards the end of September and will provide a full operational update at that time."

As of 1100 BST, Serica shares had dropped 7.42% to 22.89p.