Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) has started production from its Garten development on Block 9/18a Area-W in the U.K. sector of the North Sea, the company said Dec. 4.

The discovery well, which is located 6 km south of the Beryl Alpha Platform, was placed on production in late November, less than eight months after being drilled in March 2018, the company said. Production was originally set to start in first-quarter 2019.

“Performance from the three zones we tested is very encouraging, and we expect this field will significantly increase Apache’s reserves and production in the U.K.,” Jon Graham, region vice president for Apache’s North Sea operations, said in the release. “With exposure to strong Brent oil and U.K. natural gas prices, Garten will be a notable contributor to Apache’s cash flow in 2019.”

Apache said the discovery well at Garten encountered a downthrown structural closure with 778 ft of net oil pay in stacked, high-quality, Jurassic-aged sandstone reservoirs. The well is currently producing from the Beryl sand at a rate of 13,700 barrels of oil per day and 15.7 million cubic feet of gas per day. Two lower zones were also successfully tested. Plans are for all three zones to be commingled to maximize recovery.

“Garten is a unique technical achievement and represents Apache’s most complex smart well completion to date,” added Mark Hobbs, director of operations and projects at Apache North Sea.

The recoverable resource from the field, which is tied back to the Beryl Alpha platform, is expected to exceed 10 million barrels of light oil plus associated natural gas, Apache said in the release.

Apache has a 100% working interest in the Garten development.

“It is great to see the Garten field come onstream less than a year from the original discovery and well ahead of the original plan. The Garten well was the 2,500th exploration well on the U.K. Continental Shelf,” Andy Samuel, CEO of the Oil and Gas Authority, said in the release. “Apache’s continued success reinforces the tremendous potential of the UKCS, which Apache is unlocking using advanced data gathering and analytics with excellent application of a number of technologies including 3D seismic to uncover high value near-field prospectivity.”

Offshore