HURRICANE Energy has trebled its estimate on the volume of recoverable oil at its Lancaster field in the West of Shetland area of the North Sea.

The announcement comes within weeks of Hurricane reporting that its Halifax field, part of the Greater Lancaster Area (GLA) 60 miles west of Shetland, could contain as much as one billion barrels, making it the largest undeveloped discovery in UK waters.

In a presentation to analysts, the group revised Lancaster’s recoverable resource estimate to 593 million barrels, up from 200 million in a 2013 assessment.

The numbers are based on a recovery factor of 25 per cent on a P50 basis, which means there is a 50 per cent chance of achieving at least that target. The group noted 25 per cent recovery rates had been achieved in other fields of a similar depth.

Hurricane had indicated in February that its estimates on Lancaster were too conservative.

The Lancaster well is expected to have a flow rate of more than 17,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd), and is deeper than previously estimated.

The first oil is expected to be recovered in the first half of 2019, through an early production system. Hurricane said it had taken advantage of the current downturn in the contractor market to secure competitive pricing and attractive terms for key commercial agreements.

The group’s drilling programme west of Scotland has led it to define the two accumulations, the GLA and the Greater Warwick Area (GWA).

Initial data from Halifax indicates that it is linked to the Lancaster field, forming a single large hydrocarbon accumulation.