Neptune Pens Three-Year Vessel Service Deal With Sentinel

Neptune Energy has signed a three-year vessel services contract with Sentinel Marine. Under the deal that has a price tag of GBP 10 million ($12.1 million), Sentinel Marine will provide offshore support for Neptune Energy’s operated Cygnus gas field in the UK southern North Sea.

The contract, awarded following a competitive tendering process, will see Sentinel Marine continue to deploy its Multi-Role, Emergency Response & Rescue (MRERR) vessel, Cygnus Sentinel, on the gas field. The vessel will also support an upcoming drilling campaign on the Cygnus field.

The Cygnus Sentinel’s fuel-efficient, multi-role specification enables the vessel to provide both emergency response and platform supply services, thereby reducing costs and CO2 emissions, and maximizing efficiency.

“The MRERRV has an essential role in supporting safe operations at Cygnus. Sentinel Marine has been supporting operations at Cygnus since 2014 and we are pleased to continue working together to maintain safe and efficient operations,” said Neptune Energy’s UK Country Director Alan Muirhead.

Neptune Energy further noted that the contract includes two one-year extensions.

Cygnus is the biggest natural gas discovery in the southern North Sea in over 30 years and is now the largest single producing gas field in the UK, typically exporting over 250 million standard cubic feet of gas daily, according to Neptune Energy.

Two drilling centers target ten wells. Cygnus Alpha consists of three bridge-linked platforms: a wellhead drilling center, a processing/utility unit, and living quarters/central control room. Cygnus Bravo, an unmanned satellite platform, is approximately 4.3 miles northwest of Cygnus Alpha.

In 2022, Neptune Energy and its partner in the Cygnus field, Spirit Energy, plan to drill two new production wells. Both wells will help to maintain production from the field and offset the natural decline.

Gas is exported via a 55 km pipeline. Cygnus connects via the Esmond Transmission System (ETS) pipeline to the gas-treatment terminal at Bacton, Norfolk. Neptune Energy has a 25% minority interest in ETS.

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