Newly-listed Hurricane Energy has shown how it might take forward its West of Shetland Lancaster field development with a new floating production unit.

Hurricane, which launched on London’s Alternative Investment Market earlier this month after raising US $79 million (£49.4 million), already has plans to appraise the 2009 Lancaster fractured basement oil discovery with a new well to be drilled using the Sedco 712 semisubmersible in the second quarter.

During a recent London briefing the company indicated how it might progress Lancaster to development with what appears to be a turret-moored FPSO linked with umbilicals, flowlines and risers to a subsea field layout.

Graphics illustrating a conceptual development for Lancaster – which by no means represents the final development plan – indicates Hurricane is considering tapping the field with an FPSO, hooked up to nine subsea manifolds, with possibly 17 wells – 11 horizontal, four inclined and two surveillance wells – plus a gas export pipeline.

Lancaster was discovered in UK block 205/21a about 25 km (16 miles) south-east from BP’s Foinaven and Schiehallion fields, in a water depth of 155 m (508 ft).

Keith Kirby, Hurricane’s chief administration officer, was questioned about how his company would measure success with a Lancaster appraisal. “If we achieve 4,000 b/d, that would be very good, and it would be a success,” Kirby told his London audience. Lancaster will be subjected to both flow tests and pressure build-up tests during the appraisal, Kirby said, and well-placement during development is advancing. “We have a pretty good plan about where we think we need to place wells to maximise what we get out of the reservoir,” he added.

Subject to success with the Lancaster appraisal, Hurricane revealed that it is also considering a further appraisal well in 2015 on the nearby Lincoln accumulation, another fractured basement oil prospect lying further south but within the Lancaster development scope, according to Hurricane’s graphics.

The company also has the Whirlwind discovery, 12 km (7.5 miles) north of Lancaster, with estimated reserves of 205 MMboe. Whirlwind was discovered in 2010 with the 205/21a-5 well, which encountered a 270 m (885 ft) hydrocarbon column. Gas and oil were recovered to the surface when Whirlwind was tested in 2011.