North Sea operator Apache has moved up the production date for its Garten discovery.
In March the US-based company announced it had made the 10million barrel discovery in the Beryl area.
At the time Apache said it was seeking first oil in Q1 of 2019.
However, speaking at the DEVEX conference in Aberdeen, regional vice president Jon Graham confirmed Apache is now seeking first oil in Q4 of this year.
He said: “The success at Callater really helped de-risk our Garten project.
“We drilled this in February to April in this year and we were very fortunate to find over 700feet of net pay in the Jurassic.
“We’re in the process of designing the completion for this well, it will be a direct tie-in to our existing Buckland facilities, and we’re targeting fourth quarter 2018 for first production so that will be six months from discovery to first production.
“These fast-track developments are a direct result of using the existing subsea infrastructure.”
Garten follows other recent discoveries by Apache in the Beryl area since 2015, with Callater, Storr and Corona.
At the time, the Oil and Gas Authority hailed Apache’s success in using 3D surveying technology to uncover the reserves.
Mr Graham was discussing Apache’s success at quick movement from discovery to production in the North Sea.