First oil from Golden Eagle field

The multi-million pound development which will bring new oil to the Flotta Oil Terminal reached a major milestone this week, as the Nexen-operated Golden Eagle field produced its first oil.

The news came almost two years since Golden Eagle was described as “the most significant piece of business” since Talisman took over the Flotta terminal. This was when the project was announced to the 200 strong Flotta workforce back in November, 2012.

Back then, it was formally announced that the operators of the terminal had signed an agreement to provide transportation and processing services, through Flotta, for the Golden Eagle development.

The workforce was told that Golden Eagle was a £2.2 billion project that is expected to produce an estimated 140 million barrels of oil equivalent over an 18-year period.

Despite the first oil being produced from the development in the last few days, it will still be a matter of time until the new oil, dubbed ‘Flotta Gold’ will flow into Flotta.

Nexen Petroleum UK Ltd – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese offshore oil producer CNOOC – is the operator of the Golden Eagle Area Development, including the Golden Eagle, Solitaire and Peregrine fields, with a 36.54% working interest in each development. The remaining interests are held by Maersk Oil North Sea UK Ltd. (31.56%), Suncor Energy UK Ltd. (26.69%) and Edinburgh Oil and Gas Ltd. (5.21%).