Denmark slashes gas output forecast on Tyra delays
The Danish Energy Agency has slashed its forecasts for oil and gas production over the coming years to take into account delays at the Tyra redevelopment project, the government-run agency reported on September 7.
The DEA now expects output to come to only 0.76bn m3 this year, versus a forecast it made last year of 1bn m3. Production will slide further to 0.67bn m3 in 2022, rather than increasing to 2bn m3, and recover to 1.44bn m3 in 2023 and 2.85bn m3 in 2024, compared with 3.3bn m3 and 3.0bn m3 under the previous forecast. Supply is expected to total 2.65bn m3 in 2025, the agency said.
The Tyra field was previously Denmark's largest gas producer but was shut down in September 2019 so that a redevelopment programme could took place. Over the years the North Sea field's platforms had been sinking, requiring the TotalEnergies-led DUC operating consortium to install new, elevated topsides on the existing jackets.
Project partner Noreco warned in November last year that the field's restart had been delayed from 2022 until the second quarter of 2023 because of pandemic restrictions. Tyra's topsides arrived at the site in late August after delivery from Singapore.
According to the DEA's projections, national gas output will never again reach the height of 4bn m3 achieved in 2018, the year before Tyra's closure. Instead supply could peak at 3bn m3 in 2027.
Besides the delays at Tyra, the DEA's revisions also reflect the commitment Denmark made in December last year to stop issuing oil and gas exploration licences immediately and phase out production by 2050. The agency revised down its number for Denmark's proven gas reserves by 2bn m3 to 74bn m3 versus last year.