Premier Oil
has a spring in its step. Catcher, the big North Sea field it started up on time and under budget in December, is doing better than expected and is due to hit target production sooner than planned. “As we’ve drilled the individual wells they have all looked very promising,” Tony Durrant, chief executive, said.
Premier reported record production of 75,000 barrels per day in 2017, aided by the North Sea fields it bought from Eon in 2016. The addition of Catcher keeps it on track for between 80,000 and 85,000 bpd this year.
Premier also has significant fields ready for development. There is the Tolmount gas field in the North Sea, the Sea Lion oil field off the Falkands and last year it