Production has begun from the Maersk Oil-operated Flyndre field which straddles the UK and Norwegian North Sea.
First oil began to flow at 8pm on Sunday, travelling 25 km via pipeline to the Repsol Sinopec-operated Clyde platform.
Production is expected to peak at around 10,000 bopd with the field expected to produce until at least 2023.
Maersk Oil’s chief executive officer, Gretchen Watkins said, “Flyndre first oil represents new production for both the UK and Norway and we’re pleased to have worked with partners on both sides of the border to deliver this development.”
The field, which lies approximately 293 km south east of Aberdeen and 325km west south-west of Stavanger was discovered in 1974 and straddles the UK/Norway median line.
It is developed as a subsea tie-back to the Repsol Sinopec-operated Clyde platform with a single production well. The export route takes production from the Clyde platform, via the Repsol Sinopec-operated Fulmar platform and onwards to Teesside via the Norpipe system.
Watkins added: “By combining experience and strong technical capabilities Maersk Oil is helping engineer a bright future across the North Sea, and bringing new developments on stream is always a strong signifier of that.”
Partners in the Flyndre field development are Maersk Oil UK Limited (65.941%), Repsol Sinopec Resources UK Limited (22.739%), Repsol Sinopec North Sea Limited (4.24%), Maersk Oil Norway AS (6.255%), Statoil Petroleum AS (0.471%) and Petoro AS (0.354%).
Georg Vidnes, Clyde Asset Manager said: “This is a significant achievement for us and, importantly, allows us to maximise economic recovery from the Clyde field.
“We anticipate that the additional production from Flyndre will extend the life of Clyde well into the next decade.”