Danish gas field gets new life after fate questioned

Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Danish energy company Maersk Oil said Friday it was moving ahead with a $3.3 billion effort to redevelop the offshore Tyra gas field, Denmark's largest.

"Tyra has been a key asset in the history of Maersk Oil, and an important source of energy security for Denmark," Maersk Oil CEO Gretchen Watkins said in a statement. "The redevelopment of Tyra is the largest investment carried out in the Danish North Sea, and when completed in 2022, production from the Tyra field itself has the potential to cover Danish gas consumption for a decade."

Last December, Maersk Oil said the lack of a viable economic solution for the Tyra natural gas field, the largest in the Danish North Sea, meant production would probably end in late 2018. The company said that, even after spending more than $140 million on reinforcing structures associated with production over the past 15 years, safety was becoming a clear factor.

The company said Friday, however, it was moving ahead with the $3.3 billion effort to redevelop the field, following parliamentary approval to secure the investment. The investment would keep Tyra in production for at least the next 25 years.

Maersk noted in early 2016 that the facilities installed at the Tyra production areas in the North Sea were at the end of their operational life. The company at the time said it was notifying relevant market players of the pending closure, according to the regulatory requirements in the European Union.

The company now says it would spend about $2.7 billion to modify existing facilities and build new infrastructure for Tyra. Much of the rest would be spent on taking down some of the current infrastructure.

Production after redevelopment will be around 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and about 60 percent of that will be in gas. The entire field will shut down for redevelopment in 2019 and return to service three years later.