The German oil and gas company Wintershall and its partners Spirit Energy (Centrica) and Petoro have commissioned the NOK12bn (€1.2bn) Maria offshore oil field in the Haltenbanken area of the Norwegian Sea. The asset is located about 200 km from the Norwegian mainland, 20 km east of the Kristin field and about 45 km south of the Heidrun field. The project started production one year ahead of schedule and the final costs are NOK3bn (€303m) lower than initially planned.
The Plan of Development and Operation (PDO) of the field was approved by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in September 2015. The Maria field holds estimated recoverable reserves of around 180 mboe (mainly oil) and is developed by Wintershall Norge (operator of the license) with a 50% share, in partnership with Petoro (30%) and Spirit Energy (20%). The processed oil will be delivered to the Åsgard field for storage and offloading, while gas will be transported via the Åsgard Transport System to Kårstø.