Reuters: UK approves Premier Oil's North Sea Catcher development

Oil and gas explorer Premier Oil said on Thursday it had received government approval for its North Sea Catcher area fields which are expected to start production in 2017.

The fields in the central North Sea will produce 96 million barrels of oil equivalent, with peak production of around 50,000 barrels of oil per day, Premier Oil said.

The company will drill 22 subsea wells on the Catcher, Varadero and Burgman fields and transport the retrieved oil by tankers, while gas will be exported through the SEGAL facilities.

"The Catcher area development shows that there continues to be an extraordinary level of interest in North Sea oil and gas, which is excellent news for industry and for the whole of the UK," British Energy Minister Michael Fallon said in Premier Oil's statement.
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