The Golden Eagle Area Development (GEAD) in the UK North Sea has begun oil production, China’s CNOOC Limited has announced.
The GEAD includes development of the Golden Eagle, Peregrine and Solitaire fields. The fields are located in blocks 20/1S, 20/1N and 14/26a of the North Sea, and are located 70km northeast of Aberdeen, with an average water depth ranging from 89-139 meters.
The development comprises separate production and wellhead platforms and two subsea production systems. A total of 15 production wells and 6 water injection wells will eventually be drilled from these facilities. Currently, there are two Golden Eagle wells producing approximately 18,000 barrels of oil per day. The project is expected to reach its peak production rate of approximately 70,000 barrels of oil per day in 2015.
Li Fanrong , CNOOC CEO commented, “GEAD was delivered on schedule, on budget, and to world-class safety standards. The GEAD supported in excess of 2,500 jobs in the UK and makes a significant production contribution to the company in the near future.”
Martin Rune Pedersen , Managing Director of Maersk Oil UK, said: “Today’s announcement represents a great achievement by the Golden Eagle project teams. A project of this scale is important for the UK North Sea and for Maersk Oil – to deliver it safely, on time and on budget is an excellent performance.”
Nexen Petroleum U.K. Ltd. (“Nexen UK”), CNOOC’s wholly-owned subsidiary, is the operator of the GEAD and has 36.54% interest. The remaining interests are held by Maersk Oil North Sea UK Ltd. (31.56%), Suncor Energy UK Ltd. (26.69%) and Edinburgh Oil and Gas Ltd (5.21%).