French oil and gas giant Total said it has started up production from the giant Culzean gas field 45 miles east of Aberdeen in the North Sea.

“With a plateau production of 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), Culzean will account for around 5% of the UK’s gas consumption, bringing to 18% the proportion of the country’s gas demand supplied by Total,” said the company.

The Culzean field was the largest hydrocarbon discovery in the UK North Sea for over a decade.

“The Culzean project is delivered ahead of schedule and more than 10% below the initial budget, which represents Capex savings of more than 500 million dollars,” said Arnaud Breuillac, President Exploration & Production at Total.

“This has been achieved thanks to the excellent performance of the project teams in charge of the construction and drilling operations.

“Culzean is a good example of our efforts to upgrade our portfolio in the North Sea over the last years, notably by bringing Total and Maersk Oil together.

“The Culzean field is located in the Central Graben area, close to the Elgin-Franklin fields, also operated by Total, thus generating synergies.”

Discovered in 2008 by Maersk Oil, the Culzean field contains resources estimated between 250 and 300 million barrels of oil equivalent.

Total operates Culzean with a 49.99% participating interest, alongside BP (32%) and JX Nippon (18.01%).