BP has started up its sixth major upstream project of 2025 with first oil and gas achieved from two new wells in the Murlach field in the UK Continental Shelf. Then company said the field is expected to reach a peak production of 15,000 BOE/D that will flow through its Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP), a North Sea hub that has been operating for 27 years.
The six projects completed this year represent about 150,000 BOE/D of combined peak net production, contributing to BP’s target to deliver an additional 250,000 BOE/D combined peak net production by the end of 2027.
The project is part of the Marnock-Skua complex, located approximately 203 km from the Aberdeenshire coastline and 27 km from the UK/Norway median line. The field is in water depths ranging between 93 to 95 m.
Ewan Drummon, BP’s senior vice president of projects, said the latest project brings it closer to reaching its plan to start up 10 major upstream projects by the end of 2027.
“These projects reflect BP’s strength in safely increasing production to supply energy to meet global demand, while maintaining a relentless focus on shareholder returns. They also highlight our focus on efficient delivery, with four starting up ahead of schedule,” he said.
The project, which received government and regulatory approvals in 2023, involved the redevelopment of a field originally in operation in the early 2000s. BP acquired the field license after it was relinquished by its previous operator, Shell.
The redevelopment included drilling two subsea tieback wells, adding new subsea equipment, reusing some existing equipment, and making topside changes to the ETAP central processing facility. BP added in its announcement that its North Sea strategy includes a focus on fields that can be developed using existing infrastructure that will sustain the entirety of the new assets’ lifespan.
The field is operated by BP with an 80% interest. NEO NEXT Energy holds the remaining 20%.