Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.A) has reached a final investment decision (FID) for the Fram gas and condensate field in the U.K. North Sea, the company said June 25.

At its peak, the Fram Field is expected to produce about 41 million standard cubic feet a day of gas and 5,300 barrels per day of condensate, which combined equates to 12,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day, Shell said in a news release.

“Fram is a simplified and cost-effective project that will allow us to develop this field profitably,” said Andy Brown, upstream director for Shell. “Through our ongoing work with partners to maximize the economic recovery of the North Sea, we’ve been able to transform and revitalize Shell’s U.K. upstream business by focusing on competitive projects and cost effective operations.”

The company’s Fram Field plans include drilling two wells and transporting NGL via a new subsea pipeline to the existing Starling Field and on to the Shearwater platform through existing pipelines.

Located 221 km (137 miles) east of Aberdeen in water depths of about 100 m, the Fram Field is situated in blocks 29/3a, 29/4c, 29/8a, 29/9c in the Central North Sea. Shell said the field was originally discovered in 1969.

The FID follows the company’s decision recently to redevelop the Penguins Field in the northern North Sea.

“Shell has been able to reduce development costs by effectively collaborating across the supply chain and this has enabled us to invest in new projects such as Penguins and Fram,” Steve Phimister, vice president for upstream in the U.K. and Ireland, said in the release. “With our strong record of operational excellence and project execution, we will look to invest in further projects as we work to grow our business in the North Sea.”

Shell-operated Fram is a joint venture between Shell U.K. Ltd. (32% equity share) and Esso Exploration and Production U.K. Ltd. (68% equity share).

Offshore