On 24 March 2021, Neptune Energy announced that it plans to carry out a drilling campaign in the Dutch and UK sectors of the North Sea in partnership with Borr Drilling. Combining drilling in both countries will not only save costs but also emissions.
The platform to carry out the drilling operations, Borr Drilling's Prospector 1 rig, features the latest technologies, making it possible to reduce carbon and nitrogen emissions by up to 95 per cent during operations. Four drilling operations will be carried out in the Dutch sector of the North Sea. The first well to be drilled will be an exploration well for shallow gas located about 200 kilometres north of Den Helder. The other drilling operation will see a fourth well drilled in an existing field. Two further activities will take place to safely decommission wells that have reached the end of their economic life.
The Prospector 1 uses a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system to reduce nitrogen (NOx) and carbon (COx) emissions.
Lex de Groot, Managing Director van Neptune Energy in the Netherlands is pleased about the forthcoming activities. 'Natural gas will still be an important source of energy in the Netherlands in the years to come. We can't yet do without it. In this light, it is better to produce gas from small fields in the Dutch North Sea than it is to import foreign gas. Imported gas actually has a 30 per cent higher carbon footprint. The savings by producing domestically will make a world of difference.'