Shell breathes new life into North Sea

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LONDON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Development of the Fram oil and natural gas field in the North Sea will add at least 2 percent to British energy production, the energy ministry said Monday.

Shell announced Monday it was moving forward with the development of the Fram field in the British waters of the North Sea following final approval from London.

British Energy Minister John Hayes said, in a statement, that industry expertise were adding life to natural reserves in the region.

"The durability of oil production in the North Sea constantly confounds expectation," he said. "Fram itself will add around 2 percent to our oil and gas production."

Shell said it would develop the field using floating, production storage and offloading technology. Fram is expected to produce around 35,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day once work starts within three years.

Norwegian energy company Statoil last week said it was installing equipment on the sea floor for its part of the Fram field next summer. Statoil's drilling in the Fram field is expected to begin during the fourth quarter of 2013.