Saudi Aramco announced the first phase production start-up at the Manifa field commenced April 10, three months ahead of schedule and well under the program’s approved budget.

The Manifa field’s production capacity is expected to reach 500,000 b/d by July 2013 and is planned to reach its full design capacity of 900,000 b/d of Arabian Heavy crude oil by year-end 2014, while Saudi Aramco’s maximum sustained capacity will be maintained at the level preceding Manifa production, the company said in a news release.

The Manifa field includes dry-land rigs linked by a total of 41 km (25 miles) of causeways with a number of elevated bridges designed to maintain natural water flow in the Manifa Bay and preserving natural marine nurseries, the company said. Including a 420-megawatt heat and electricity plant, the project employed best in class technologies in infrastructure, drilling and production activities consuming more than 80 million man hours without a lost time injury, one of the best safety records in the industry, which qualified the project to receive the “Innovative Oil Project of the Year” award.

The field is located in the Persian Gulf offshore Saudi Arabia.

Offshore