ENERGY firm Statoil has started drilling in the Mariner oil field, its biggest project on the UK continental shelf, which lies 95 miles east of Shetland.
The Norwegian firm said in a statement: “Mariner is one of the largest projects currently under development in the British continental shelf. Contracts worth over $1.3 billion have been awarded to date to the UK supply chain by the project.”
The move to drilling heralds the shift in development from planning to active offshore operations. Five wells are being planned before the first oil production is expected in 2018.
The Norwegian energy company has opened an office in Aberdeen to build a stronger footprint in the regional waters of the North Sea. The Scottish government expects Statoil to add 700 full-time jobs to the economy by 2018.
Scottish Government data said the North Sea remains the largest oil producer and second-largest natural gas producer in Europe. The government says the industry is depressed, but production is expected to increase by as much as 17 per cent by 2019.
The Mariner announcement comes less than a week after BP said it was taking a stake in the Jock Scott reserve basin from Statoil and, working alongside the Norwegian company, was planning new drilling in the North Sea next year. Statoil said Mariner holds an estimated 250 billion barrels of oil and peak production should be around 55,000 barrels of oil per day.
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