Serica halts production as it repairs issue at Bruce platform

Serica Energy updated the market on Bruce platform operations on Thursday, reporting that during a platform inspection, the condition of an unused seawater return caisson was seen to have deteriorated.

The AIM-traded firm said the caisson had been taken out of service in 2009, but confirmed production through the Bruce facility was halted while the problem was fully investigated.

A subsequent underwater inspection determined that the unused caisson had parted below the water line.

Both the upper and lower sections of the caisson are intact, the company said, with engineering work to ensure that the caisson was properly secured now having started.

Preliminary estimates were that the work would take about two months, following which production would be restored.

Serica said that during that period, there would be no production from the Bruce, Keith and Rhum fields.

The financial impact would be mitigated by the net cash flow sharing arrangements entered into by Serica with the sellers of interests in the fields in 2018, the board claimed.

It said the firm’s other activities, including its share of production from the Erskine field, would be unaffected.

“Although this is a frustrating event, our skilled offshore team have reacted very efficiently,” said chief executive officer Mitch Flegg.

“The underwater investigation quickly determined the cause of the problem and a solution is being planned to allow the resumption of full production.”

At 1219 GMT, shares in Serica Energy were down 6.77% at 121.2p.