Operational focus on the Don Fields will now shift to phase two anticipated to commence during the second quarter of 2010.
The company said that production via the permanent pipeline export route to the nearby Thistle platform was commissioned on March 5, 2010 and the delivery of oil has commenced.
Completion of the Thistle export route has also allowed the Don Southwest partners to start production from the recently side-tracked Area 22, the final production well associated with the first phase of the development.
The well has performed in-line with expectations reaching initial flow rates equivalent to over 15,000bopd, the company said. Water injection into Area 5 in the north of Don Southwest has also commenced.
Peter Buchanan, CEO of Valiant Petroleum, said: “We are pleased to have completed this important milestone for the Don Fields project, allowing us to focus our attention on the further stages of development for these fields in 2010 and beyond.”
