The vessel left the Keppel Verolme shipyard in Rotterdam on 15 December and has since been towed onto location and anchored in UKCS Block 22/2a in the central North Sea. This block contains the Chestnut field in which Venture has a 69.875% interest and is the field operator.

The Hummingbird is the second Sevan 300 unit to be built and the first cylindrical FPSO to be deployed in the North Sea. It is contracted to Venture for an initial firm two and a half year contract but Venture has the option of at least four six month extension periods. It will stay on location until the Chestnut field ceases production but will then be available to Venture for re-use on a follow on project. The vessel"s moorings were pre-laid earlier this year and work will commence shortly to install the production riser and complete final commissioning of the vessel ahead of production. First oil production is currently anticipated around the end of the first quarter of 2008.

Chestnut has net recoverable reserves estimated at 6.5 million barrels of oil equivalent ("MMboe") and is expected to commence production at net rates of around 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day ("boepd").

Commenting on the news, Mike Wagstaff, Chief Executive said:

"This is another important milestone for Venture. The Hummingbird is an innovative re-usable flexible and low cost solution specifically designed to enable the development of remotely located stranded oil reserves. As well as a cost effective solution for Chestnut, it provides us with the option to redeploy it elsewhere in our portfolio in circumstances where a low cost floating production unit can deliver a more attractive return on capital than a conventional sub-sea tie back or ship-shaped unit."

PIN/OILVOICE.COM