Repsol Sinopec said on June 28 it had started gas production from a new field in the North Sea in a boost to the maturing basin just days after EnQuest brought a new oil field on stream.

The Cayley gas field in the central North Sea will, with the adjoining Godwin and Shaw fields, will reach a peak production level of 40,000 boe/d, said the company, a joint venture between Spain’s Repsol and China’s Sinopec.

The fields feed into the existing Montrose platform, which would have shut down this year without further investments. Repsol Sinopec has spent about $2.6 billion on bringing the new fields on stream and building a bridge-linked production platform.

The company said the project will add up to 100 MMboe of extra production and ensure the Montrose facilities will operate for another 15 years.

The announcement comes just days after EnQuest started oil production from its 50,000-bbl/d Kraken Field.

Oil and gas output from the North Sea has more than halved since its peak at the turn of the century, but production has rebounded slightly in the past two years as new projects authorized before the oil price crash have come on stream.