Production has begun from Aker BP’s Kobra East & Gekko (KEG) project on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the company announced on Oct. 26.

The project in the Central North Sea in 410 ft water depth is a subsea tieback to the nearby Alvheim FPSO. Production from KEG was initially targeted for first-quarter 2024.

Aker BP filed a plan for the $712 million (NOK 8 billion) development and operation to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in June 2021. Aker BP said the project, targeting 40 MMboe of recoverable reserves, came in under budget in addition to being ahead of schedule, noting that drilling costs claimed a major chunk of the project’s overall budget. About 42 km of wellbore was drilled for four wells.

"The successful start-up of production from KEG also represents a new chapter in Alvheim's proud history of being among the most cost-efficient oil and gas producers on the Norwegian shelf with a resource base that has multiplied since start-up," Aker BP CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik said in a press release.

The KEG project is the second of three planned tiebacks to the Alvheim FPSO. In March, the fast-track Frosk subsea tieback project began production. Tyrving is slated to begin production in 2025.

"The KEG project adds important volumes to the existing production capacity at Alvheim FPSO and will enable extended lifetime up to 2040. The ongoing Tyrving project, which is estimated to come on stream in 2025, will add further production to the FPSO," Alvheim Director Ine Dolve said in a press release.

The Alvheim FPSO started production in 2008, and nearly 600 MMboe have been produced from the area since.

Aker BP operates the KEG project on PL203 on behalf of partner ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS.

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