Dana Petroleum, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Korea National Oil (KNOC), and its project partner Cieco have commenced oil production from the $2bn Western Isles development located in Block 210/24a, in the UK North Sea.

The Western Isles development is producing from the Harris and Barra oil fields which are located 160km east of the Shetlands and 12km west of the Tern field.

Cieco said that four production wells and one injection well have been drilled and completed during the initial ramp-up period and are now being brought online in a phased manner.

The partners are planning to drill further production and injection wells after 2018.

Dana said: “Production started on 15 November and has continued steadily and in line with our expectations.”

According to estimates, the two fields hold 100 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe), of which 45mboe can be recovered feasibly.

The Western Isles development comprises production and water injection wells which are tied back to a new build floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) with oil export using shuttle tankers, the firm said.

According to the company, the cylindrical FPSO has the capacity to store 400,000 barrels in its tanks.

Dana CEo Roy Elliot said: “The safe start-up of Western Isles is a proud moment and a great achievement for Dana and our owner the Korea National Oil Corporation – and it demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the North Sea.”

Expected to have full production capacity of up to 44,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, the Western Isles development will add over 30,000 barrels (net) to Dana’s daily production.

UK Oil and Gas Authority Northern North Sea manager Brenda Wyllie said: “The first oil milestone from the Western Isles Development is positive news and helps confirm the remaining potential of the UK Continental Shelf.” 

Dana operates the Western Isles development project with 77% stake while the remaining 23% interest is held by Cieco, a subsidiary of Itochu.

Image: The Western Isles development is producing from the Harris and Barra oil fields in the UK North Sea.