BP celebrated first oil from its Kinnoull field in the central North Sea Tuesday, the company’s seventh and final major upstream project to start-up this year.
The Kinnoull reservoir, developed as part of a wider rejuvenation of the Andrew field area, is tied back to BP’s Andrew platform, about 143 miles east of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Production from Andrew and Kinnoull is forecast to peak at over 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Kinnoull is expected to extend production at the site by a decade.
Production from Kinnoull is being carried to the Andrew platform via a 17 mile subsea pipeline bundle, the longest such system in the world.
Oil produced at the field is sent through the Forties pipeline system and gas produced at the field is sent through the CATS pipeline system.
“As we now look to continue our investments and meet the challenges of a toughening market environment, we also need to continue to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of our North Sea business,” Regional President for BP’s North Sea business Trevor Garlick.
BP operates and has a 77.06 percent interest in Kinnoull.
Japan-based JX Nippon Exploration and Production holds a 22.94 percent stake.
The Andrew platform is operated by BP, with a 62.75 percent interest.
JX Nippon has 27.39 percent interest and Talisman-Sinopec has a 9.86 percent interest.
