BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 9. bp has begun production from the Murlach field in the UK North Sea, marking its sixth major upstream oil and gas project to start up in 2025, Trend reports.
The company said the project strengthens its efforts to meet growing global energy demand while maintaining its focus on efficiency and shareholder value.
The six new projects launched this year together are expected to add around 150,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) at combined peak net production, contributing to bp’s goal of delivering an additional 250,000 boed by the end of 2027.
“Murlach is the sixth start-up for bp in 2025 and marks another important milestone in our plan to deliver 10 major upstream oil and gas projects by the end of 2027,” said Ewan Drummond, bp’s senior vice president of projects. “These projects reflect bp’s strength in safely increasing production to supply energy to meet global demand, while maintaining a relentless focus on shareholder returns.”
Located within the bp-operated Eastern Trough Area Project (ETAP) in the central North Sea, Murlach will add about 15,000 boed at peak production. The project received regulatory approval in 2023 and involves redeveloping a field that was previously active in the early 2000s.
The redevelopment included drilling two new wells, installing new subsea equipment, reusing existing infrastructure, and upgrading the ETAP central processing facility.
“A key focus for bp in the North Sea is to identify opportunities that can be developed competitively using existing infrastructure,” said Doris Reiter, bp’s senior vice president for the North Sea. “Murlach serves as another great example of this approach and is a testament to the skill and dedication of the bp team, our co-venturer NEO NEXT Energy, and our supply chain partners.”
The ETAP hub, in operation for 27 years, remains one of bp’s key assets in the North Sea, playing a central role in sustaining production and optimizing mature field redevelopment.