The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate announced on July 28 that Neptune Energy Norge AS has received approval for the start-up of the Duva field in the North Sea. The field is slated to come online in August, with estimated reserves of 11 million standard cu m of oil equivalent (71 MMboe), according to the operator.

The Duva oil and gas field, located in production license 636, was discovered in 2016 and has a subsea installation with four wells—three oil producers and one gas producer—that is ready to go.

The field is 14 kilometers northeast of Gja. The underwater template is integrated with Gja's existing subsea infrastructure. For processing and export, the product stream is directed from Duva to the platform on the Gja field. The oil is shipped to Mongstad in the county of Vestland, while the gas is shipped to the United Kingdom.

The project is expected to cost 5.1 billion kroner, according to Neptune.

"Duva is the first discovery to be developed in the Agat Formation, and we're hoping for additional discoveries and developments in the same formation," said Kalmar Ildstad, head of license management for the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

With a 30% stake in the license, Neptune is the operator. PGNiG Upstream Norway AS has a 30% stake, Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS has a 30% stake, and Sval Energi AS has a 10% stake.