The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has granted consent to start production on the Lundin Norway-operated Edvard Grieg Field in production license 338 in the North Sea, the NPD said in a news release.

Production start-up is scheduled in accordance with the plan for development and operation (PDO). Development costs have increased slightly, but the increase is within the uncertainty range of plus or minus 20 percent in the PDO investment projections, the release said.

Edvard Grieg is located on the Utsira High, about 35 km south of the Grane and Balder fields. The field is developed with a stand-alone processing platform on a steel-jacket structure. The oil will be transported via the Edvard Grieg Oil Pipeline (EGOP) to the Grane oil pipeline and on to the Sture Terminal north of Bergen. The gas will be transported via the Utsira High Gas Pipeline (UHGP), which is tied-in to the Scottish Area Gas Evacuation (SAGE) transport system on the U.K. side, , according to the release.

The NPD recently granted start-up consents for the EGOP and UHGP transport systems.

Development of Edvard Grieg is being coordinated with development of the nearby Ivar Aasen Field. Oil and gas from Ivar Aasen will be processed on Edvard Grieg and then routed via the same transport systems, the NPD said. Production start-up on Ivar Aasen is scheduled for late 2016.

In addition, Edvard Grieg will supply Ivar Aasen with power. The licensees in production license 338 are cooperating with other licensees on the Utsira High regarding a coordinated solution for power from land, the NPD said.