The start of commercial oil production from the Edvard Grieg field in the North Sea could be transformational, operator Lundin Petroleum said.

Commercial production started Saturday. The company discovered the field in 2007 and estimates it holds about 187 million barrels of oil equivalents. Most of the reserves in the field located in Norwegian waters are in the form of oil.

Early delays in infrastructure installation at Edvard Grieg prompted Lundin, which has headquarters in Sweden, to revise its full-year production guidance lower to 32,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day.

Lundin President and Chief Executive Officer Alex Schneiter said first oil was a "remarkable achievement ... that was made possible by the excellent support received from our partners and the government in Norway."

The National Petroleum Directorate revised its data for the field during the summer. Preliminary calculations from an exploration well led to a potential increase of between 6.2 million and 50 million barrels of recoverable oil in the field. Peak production is anticipated at 90,000 barrels of oil and 53 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

The start of commercial production comes at a time when a market favoring the supply side is leaving crude oil prices lower. That, in turn, leaves companies with less capital for investments.

The NPD said the development costs of Edvard Grieg where higher than originally planned, but within the range of expected uncertainty.

Lundin reported a net loss for the third quarter of $200 million, compared with net profit of $5.6 million over the same period last year. Shares in the company (LUPE) were up 3.1 percent in early trading Monday after the Edvard Grieg announcement.

India taking energy demand lead
Paris (UPI) Nov 30, 2015 - With China's economy slowing, it's India that takes the lead as the country expected to take on more oil than any other, the International Energy Agency said.

"With energy use declining in many developed countries and China entering a much less energy-intensive phase in its development, India emerges as a major driving force in global trends, with all modern fuels and technologies playing a part," a country analysis from the IEA read.

A report from the Asian Development Bank said India's gross domestic product for the current fiscal year, which ends March 2016, is expected at 7.4 percent, down from the bank's estimate in March of 7.8 percent. While relatively on par with its Asian peers, China's economy is slowing from a 7.7 percent growth rate recorded in 2013 to 7.4 percent this year.

With India's economy expected to be five times larger in 2040 than it is today, the IEA, which has headquarters in France, said total energy demand more than doubles. Oil demand for India increases more than any other country and, while gas consumption triples, it plays only a minor role in the nation's energy mix.

India by 2040 relies on oil imports to meet more than 90 percent of its demand, a balance the IEA said may require "constant vigilance" in terms of global energy security." In terms of coal, as with oil, India becomes the largest consumer by a long shot, the IEA said.

Coal India, the largest coal-mining company in the world, said its production was up about 7 percent for the year.

IEA adds there may be considerable challenges to advancing a sustainable energy future for India. The ADB in October signed a $200 million loan agreement with New Delhi to support clean energy programs. It's the first installment of a $500 million lending program for India, which the bank said would catalyze private sector investments in projects ranging from wind to biomass energy.