The UK Oil & Gas Authority has approved production at the largest new oil and gas field to have been discovered in the North Sea for a decade.

Discovered by Maersk Oil and its co-venturers in 2008, the Culzean gas condensate field is expected to hold around 250-300 million barrels of oil equivalent. Production is set to start in 2019 and continue for at least 13 years, with plateau production of 60,000-90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Maersk Oil and its co-venturers, JX Nippon and BP (Britoil), are investing around £3 billion in the development, with more than 50 per cent committed to investments in the UK.

Over the projected life of the field, Maersk Oil anticipates that £2.1 billion in operating expenditure will be spent in the UK domestic market.

The company also said the field would support around 6,000 UK jobs and create more than 400 direct jobs.

Maersek Oil said the development has benefited from the HPHT Cluster Area Allowance introduced by the UK government as part of the 2015 Budget.

The allowance supports the development of high-pressure, high-temperature projects — which typically have considerably higher capital costs — and encourages exploration and appraisal activity in the surrounding area or ‘cluster’.

Chancellor George Osborne, reacting to the news, said: “Today’s announcement sends a clear signal that the North Sea is open for business. Already the UK’s oil and gas industry supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country and this £3 billion investment comes on the back of massive government support for the sector.

“Despite challenging times, this government has backed the oil and gas industry at every turn, introducing a vital package of support to help it to protect and create jobs.”

Jakob Thomasen, CEO of Maersk Oil, said: “Culzean is an important development for the UK and also for Maersk Oil and our co-venturers. We are pleased the field will support UK economic growth as well as extend understanding of HPHT development.

“Culzean is the latest in a series of large investments by Maersk Oil in the North Sea where we are active in Denmark, Norway and the UK – reflecting our commitment to the future of the North Sea region.”

Andy Samuel, chief executive of the Oil & Gas Authority, added: “Maersk Oil and partners’ £3 billion investment to develop the Culzean discovery is excellent news for the UK during a period when the decline in global oil prices has created difficult operating conditions for this critical sector of our economy.”