By drilling three wells in total, the Orca field will be developed, while first two development wells have been drilled and completed in 2013.
The third producer, which is currently being drilled, is expected to complete in February 2013.
The company noted that gas is located in Carboniferous reservoir and the platform D18a-A is situated in the Dutch sector, 500m from the UK sector and in around 40m water depth.
In the UK, Orca spreads into blocks 44/24a, 44/29b and 44/30a, while it is in blocks D15b and D18a in the Dutch sector.
RWE Dea COO Dirk Warzecha said the Orca is the fourth of UK projects coming on stream within only 1.5 years.
"With Orca we now have another field on stream that provides an important contribution to reach our growth targets," added Warzecha.
RWE Dea UK managing director Dirk Schoene said, "The cross-border location of the Orca field, the need to take account of two different legal systems as well as the associated agreements on field development and the distribution of resources required intense negotiations between all stakeholders involved."
GDF SUEZ E&P Nederland operates the well with 22.5% stake and partners RWE Dea UK, E.ON E&P UK, EBN BV, GDF SUEZ E&P UK and Faroe Petroleum with 19.7%, 23.5%, 22.5%, 8.6% and 3.2% stake respectively.
Image: Platform D18a-A. Photo: Courtesy of GDF SUEZ E&P.
