CNOOC announces first oil from Golden Eagle Area Development

CNOOC announces first oil from Golden Eagle Area Development

HONG KONG -- CNOOC has announced that the Golden Eagle Area Development (GEAD) in the UK North Sea has started production.

The GEAD includes development of the Golden Eagle, Peregrine and Solitaire fields. The fields are located in blocks 20/1S, 20/1N and 14/26a of the North Sea, and are located 70 km northeast of Aberdeen, with an average water depth ranging from 89 to 139 m.

The development comprises separate production and wellhead platforms and two subsea production systems. A total of 15 production wells and 6 water injection wells will eventually be drilled from these facilities.

Currently, there are two Golden Eagle wells producing approximately 18,000 bopd. The project is expected to reach its peak production rate of approximately 70,000 bopd in 2015.

Nexen Petroleum UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, is the operator of the GEAD and has 36.54% interest. The remaining interests are held by Maersk Oil North Sea UK (31.56%), Suncor Energy UK (26.69%) and Edinburgh Oil and Gas (5.21%).