OREANDA-NEWS. November 14, 2014. CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE CEO, SEHK 00883, TSX CNU) reports that the Golden Eagle Area Development (GEAD) in the UK North Sea has begun production.

The GEAD includes development of the Golden Eagle, Peregrine, and Solitaire fields. The fields are located in blocks 201S, 201N and 1426a of the North Sea, and are located 70 kilometers northeast of Aberdeen, UK, with an average water depth ranging from 89-139 meters.

The development comprises separate production and wellhead platforms and two subsea production systems. A total of 15 production wells and six water-injection wells will eventually be drilled from these facilities. Currently, there are two Golden Eagle wells producing 18,000 barrels of oil per day. The project is expected to reach its peak production rate of 70,000 barrels of oil per day in 2015.

Nexen Petroleum U.K. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, is the operator of the GEAD and has 36.54% interest. 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%).