Venture Production says that the Kittiwake Platform returned to full operations on Thursday 20 November. The platform had been running on a restricted basis whilst repairs were carried to part of the oil processing system that had been isolated following the sighting of an oil sheen on 6 November.

The source of the oil sheen was traced to a fault in one of the oil cooler systems on the Kittiwake platform. This piece of equipment was safely bypassed and a remedial plan put in place. The faulty equipment was repaired during the course of last week.

Taking account of latest project timings and the operational shutdowns required to first identify and then repair the faulty equipment on Kittiwake, by way of update to the Interim Management Statement issued on 12 November, Venture now estimates its annual average production rate will be between 43,500 boepd and 45,000 boepd.

Plans to start production from the Grouse and Stamford fields in December and carry out the workover on the Mallard field remain on track.

Commenting on the news, Mike Wagstaff, Chief Executive, said, "The speed with which our offshore and onshore personnel reacted to the oil sheen problem and the highly efficient way in which all parties were kept informed as to progress toward safely resolving the issue is something we can be proud of. Protecting the safety of our people and the environment must remain paramount in all offshore operations despite the need to maximise recovery of oil and gas from our fields. We now look forward to enhancing the productivity of the Greater Kittiwake Area through the final tie-in of the new Grouse field, and the resumption of production from Mallard."

Tags: Venture Production plc