United Kingdom – The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has issued a letter of “no objection” to Ping Petroleum for the development concept of the Avalon discovery in the Central North Sea.

Avalon production wells will be tied back to a repurposed Floating Production Storage and Offloading facility (FPSO), which will have spare ullage to provide an offtake route for nearby stranded discoveries. In addition, talks with the UK regulator and supply chain are ongoing to decarbonize the development by incorporating floating offshore wind.

Ping purchased the remaining 50% interest in UK North Sea Block 21/6b, License P.2006, containing the Avalon Oil Development, from Summit Exploration and Production Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Corporation, last year, bringing Ping’s ownership in the licence to 100%.

Final Investment Decision

In order to submit the Avalon Field Development Plan, the company will now complete conceptual development planning and begin Front End Engineering work, with a Final Investment Decision (FID) expected later this year.

Production from the field is expected to begin between mid-2024 and mid-2025, with a total estimated recovery of 23 million barrels of oil. This is contingent on the availability of key materials and equipment.