Germany’s Wintershall said today that first oil from its flagship Norwegian project could be brought forward to the first half of 2018.
Drilling on the £1.4billion Maria field began in March and is due to last up to 580 days.
The top holes are now complete and drilling towards the reservoir section is under way.
Nearly 70 kilometres of pipelines and two subsea templates have already been installed with the remaining installations due in 2017.
Maria will be tied back to three existing platforms in the Haltenbanken area – Kristin, Heidrun and Asgard B.
Platform modifications to the Kristin and Heidrun platforms, and other offshore marine work is ongoing.
Wintershall chief executive Mario Mehren said: “I am proud to see the field begin to take shape. Maria is a fitting symbol of our long-term commitment to Norway.”
Wintershall Norge operates the license with a 50% share. Petoro has a 30% share and Centrica Resources (Norge) owns the remaining 20%.