Production is under way from the Juliet North Sea gas field, operator GDF Suez has confirmed.
Initial gas is now being produced from the first of two wells on the field, which sits off the Lincolnshire coast.
A second well is due to come online in the next few weeks as the French firm – which is building new offices in Aberdeen’s Palmerston Road – looks to produce a maximum of 800million cubic metres of gas each year.
“Start of commercial production from Juliet is an important and exciting milestone as GDF Suez becomes a fully-fledged North Sea production operator,” said GDF vice-president Jean-Marie Dauger.
“Juliet demonstrates our commitment to continuously developing the potential of the United Kingdom Continental Shelf and the value that can be derived in a mature region through the efficient use of existing infrastructure.”
Gas from the field, originally discovered five years ago, is transported to the Pickerill A platform, before being transported to the Theddlethorpe gas terminal in Lincolnshire.
Meanwhile, the Enoch field could remain shut until the middle of this year as the ongoing technical problems which have left it closed for two years continue. The field, which straddles the UK and Norwegian borders 160 miles off Aberdeen, was closed at the end of January 2012 after mechanical issues with the subsea equipment on the site.
The Talisman Sinopec-operated field was originally due to restart late last year, but now field partner Noreco has warned it could be the middle of summer before it finally resumes production.
“The Enoch field will most likely remain shut well into the second quarter this year,” the company warned in a statement last night.
At peak production, the field is expected to produce around 15,000barrels of oil equivalent, which is processed at Brae Alpha 10 miles away. The field was first developed in 2007.
The news came as Noreco revealed it had been boosted by the output from the Huntington field. The field, which was shut for several days over Christmas due to weather conditions, has returned to full operations after the technical problems which cut output last year.
Noreco said production had reached more than 32,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.