BP and its co-venturers Shell and Siccar Point Energy announced first oil from the redeveloped Schiehallion Area following completion of the multi-billion-pound Quad 204 project in the west of Shetland region.

Schiehallion and the adjacent Loyal fields were first developed in the mid-1990s and have produced nearly 400 million barrels of oil since production started in 1998.

With the fields’ redevelopment through the Quad 204 project, BP and co-venturers expect to unlock a further estimated 450 million barrels of resources, extending the life of the fields out to 2035 and beyond.

Production from the project is expected to ramp up through the remainder of 2017 to a plateau level of 130,000 barrels of oil per day.

BP said it is planning to double its UK North Sea production to 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boe/d) by 2020 and sustain a material business in the region for several decades.

Bob Dudley, BP Group Chief Executive, said: “The start of production from Quad 204 — one of the largest recent investments in the UK — is an important milestone for BP, marking a return to growth for our North Sea business.

“As one of the series of important, higher-margin major projects that are now steadily coming on line for BP, it also underpins our expectation for growing production and cash flows from our upstream business over the coming few years.”

Mark Thomas, regional president for BP’s North Sea business, said: “In safely delivering first oil from the Quad 204 project, we have succeeded in one of the largest ever UK mid-life offshore redevelopments.

“BP has developed a strong track record of finding, developing and operating big offshore oil resources west of Shetland — we have and will continue to use the latest technology to maximise recovery from the Schiehallion Area.”

BP said that since the Quad 204 project was sanctioned in 2011, more than £2 billion of contracts have been awarded to UK companies.