BG Group, a world leader in exploration and LNG, announced the Petrojarl Knarr floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel had started production from the Knarr oil field in the North Sea, offshore Norway.

The FPSO has been leased from Teekay Corporation (NYSE: TK) and is moored approximately 120 kilometres off the Norwegian coast. It has a production capacity of 63 000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and a storage capacity of 800 000 barrels.

The Knarr field, discovered in 2008, has estimated gross recoverable reserves of around 80 million barrels of oil equivalent with a production life of at least ten years. In 2011 the Knarr field was merged with the Knarr West field into an integrated development. New exploration drilling in the licence area is ongoing, in order to help extend the production life further.

BG Group is the operator of the field with a 45% working interest. Partners include Idemitsu Petroleum Norge (25%), Wintershall Norge (20%) and DEA Norge AS (10%).

About BG Group

BG Group plc (LSE: BG.L) is a world leader in natural gas, with a broad portfolio of business interests focused on exploration and production and liquefied natural gas. Active in more than 20 countries on five continents, BG Group combines a deep understanding of gas markets with a proven track record in finding and commercialising reserves. BG Group trades in the US in the form of ADRs (American Depositary Receipts) on the OTCQX International Premier market under the symbol (OTCQX:BRGYY).