Denmark's largest gas field to close

Maersk Oil said it's not found an economic solution to continue production from the Tyra field. 

By Daniel J. Graeber 

The largest natural gas field in the Danish waters of the North Sea is set to cease production by the end of 2018. File Photo by Maryam Rahmanian/UPI

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The lack of a viable economic solution for the largest natural gas field in the Danish North Sea means production will end in late 2018, Maersk Oil said.

Maersk Oil operates the Tyra natural gas field on behalf of a broader consortium that includes partnerships with energy majors like Royal Dutch Shell. Maersk said that, even after spending more than $140 million on reinforcing structures associated with production over the past 15 years, safety is becoming a clear factor.

Maersk noted in early 2016 that the facilities installed at the Tyra production areas in the North Sea are at the end of their operational life. The company started notifying relevant market players of the pending closure well in advance, according to the regulatory requirements in the European Union.

The company said in a statement decommissioning of Tyra will proceed with the aim of ending production by October 2018. Starting next month, any resources now targeting reconstruction will go toward shutting the field down.

"We have not yet found an economically viable solution for full recovery of the remaining resources in the Tyra field," Martin Rune Pedersen, the company's chief operating officer, said in a statement.

Maersk said Tyra is Denmark's largest gas field and its processing infrastructure services about 90 percent of the nation's gas production.

The Danish energy company said the potential for the rest of the nation's territorial waters in the North Sea is promising.

A.P Moeller-Maersk in September announced it was splitting the company in two, with its oil-related business spinning off to focus on the North Sea. In June, the company had advanced on a restructuring plan by sidelining top executives and by then had already announced plans to cut about 40 positions from its regional offices.

A week after the split, Maersk Oil said it was making cuts in its technology and project group and parting ways with additional top executives.