CNOOC Ltd. announced in a press release that the Golden Eagle Area Development (GEAD) in the U.K. North Sea commenced production.

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 70 km (43 miles) northeast of Aberdeen, with an average water depth ranging from 89 m to 139 m (292 ft to 456 ft).

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 about 18,000 bbl/d of oil. The project is expected to reach its peak production rate of about 70,000 bbl/d of oil in 2015, according to the release.

Li Fanrong, CEO of the CNOOC said, “GEAD was delivered on schedule, on budget and to worldclass safety standards. The GEAD supported in excess of 2,500 jobs in the U.K. and makes a significant production contribution to the company in the near future.”

Nexen Petroleum U.K. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the CNOOC, is the operator of the GEAD and has 36.54% interest. The remaining interests are held by Maersk Oil North Sea U.K. Ltd. (31.56%), Suncor Energy U.K. Ltd. (26.69%) and Edinburgh Oil and Gas Ltd. (5.21%), according to the release.

Offshore