Scottish-based Ramco Energy ROS.L said today that flows from the first production well at its Seven Heads gas field off the west coast of Ireland were better than expected, and that it would begin a second well soon.
The finished well, the first of five new production wells to be drilled in the field, reached its maximum depth of almost 1,300 metres on March 29, after which tests were conducted on the flow rate, the company said in a statement.
"This well...exceeded our best expectations," Chief Operating Officer Dan Stover told Reuters.
"But we certainly had something better in mind than anybody had ever seen before anyway," he added, noting that the original exploration in the field was for oil and not gas.
"We're very pleased with our mechanical progress in getting the flow lines laid and working on the main pipeline," Stover added.
He said he expected work on the second new well to begin shortly.Ramco, which has an 87 percent interest in the operation, reiterated that it expected the first gas to be available before the end of 2003.
The company plans to drill five new wells in the field, originally developed in the 1970s, and connect them via a 34-kilometre pipeline to existing facilities in the Kinsale gas field operated by U.S. company Marathon International Petroleum MRO.N .
Norway-based DNO has a 12.5 percent stake in the Seven Heads field through its subsidiary Island Petroleum Development.
Gas demand has risen sharply in recent years in Ireland, which imports around 80 percent of its gas needs.