A second successful horizontal well has increased production at the Bacchus field in the UK sector of the North Sea to 12,900 b/d of oil, Apache Corp. reported.

The latest horizontal well, Bacchus West, penetrated Jurassic-aged Fulmar reservoir sandstones and logged 271 m (889 ft) of net pay in three sections. Currently, the well is producing approximately 8,500 b/d of oil.

The first well on the field, Bacchus South, commenced production in May at approximately 6,000 b/d; it currently is producing approximately 4,400 b/d. Apache has a 50% working interest in Bacchus, which is a subsea tie-back to Apache’s Forties Alpha platform.

“Increased output in the North Sea stemming from our drilling successes at Bacchus and the Beryl Field are expected to make a significant contribution to Apache’s second half 2012 production growth,” said Rodney Eichler, president and COO.

Following completion operations at Bacchus, the Rowan Gorilla VII jackup drilling rig is scheduled to move to appraise Apache’s Aviat shallow gas discovery.