Oil and gas firm Premier Oil has received approval of its field development plan for the Solan field in the UK Continental Shelf from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
The Premier-operated Solan field, in which it has a 60% stake, is expected to produce around 40m barrels of oil with an estimated initial production rate of 24,000 barrels of oil per day, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The project will involve the drilling of four wells and will only be manned for less than one year of operations. The oil will be stored in a sub-sea tank before being offloaded to shuttle tankers.
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A number of contracts have already been issued for the outsourcing of various pieces of equipment and services.
Charles Hendry, UK Energy Minister, said: "Premier's Solan project will bring considerable benefits to the UK. In addition to contributing to the UK's future energy supplies, a sizeable proportion of the contracts are expected to be awarded to UK companies. Premier's investment is excellent news and further demonstrates the significant remaining opportunities to develop new oil and gas fields in the UK Continental Shelf."
Privately owned Chrysaor, which specialises in the development and commercialisation of dormant discoveries, owns the remaining 40% of the project.
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