Statoil brings North Sea oil and gas field online

Norwegian energy company Statoil said Monday it started production at a new North Sea oil and natural gas field on time and under budget.

The company said it started production at the Oseberg Delta II development about three years after the initial discovery. The total investment of $926 million was "well below" initial expectations, the company said.

"We've delivered yet another high quality, fast-track development according to plan and well within budget," Torger Rod, senior vice president for subsea projects, said in a statement.

Statoil said the field holds an estimated 77 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which more than half exists as natural gas. The field is expected to remain in production for about 20 years.

In a fourth quarter report issued in early February, the company said it aims to increase production annually by 2 percent next year and 3 percent through 2018. Capital spending, however, will decline 10 percent to $18 billion.

In terms of production, Statoil said its equity stake in global production was 2.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day during the fourth quarter, up 3.5 percent year-on-year, driven by new field development.

Norway is a regional leader in terms of oil and natural gas production.