Hercules 265 rig fire that has caused collapse of the drill floor and derrick after a July 23, 2013 night explosion is shown in this U.S. Coast Guard photo released by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) on July 24, 2013.
Hercules 265 rig fire that has caused collapse of the drill floor and derrick after a July 23, 2013 night explosion is shown in this U.S. Coast Guard photo released by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) on July 24, 2013. The shallow-water Gulf of Mexico drilling rig has partially collapsed off the coast of Louisiana after catching fire because of a ruptured natural gas well, U.S. regulators said on Wednesday. REUTERS/U.S. Coast Guard/BSEE/

A major U.K. North Sea oil discovery has been declared by two leading energy firms, GDF Suez and BP. Spanning adjacent blocks that are managed differently by both the companies, the oil field has been flow-tested at a higher rate of 5,350 barrels per day. "Marconi" is the name given by GDF Suez subsidiary GDF Suez E&P UK, even as "Vorlich" is the name given by BP.

The Marconi/Vorlich field could now produce up to 5,350 barrels of oil everyday. This would be worth about 157 million pounds annually when the Brent prices are considered, according to news.stv.tv.

GDF Suez has erected over 50 licences in the Central and Southern North Sea lying West of Shetland. The company has over 300 staffers and contractors in offices situated in London and Aberdeen. On the other hand, BP, with co-venturers, is taking on a 10 billion investment programme in the area. It has agreed to spend more than 7 billion pounds in the coming five years.

Trevor Garlick, the regional president of BP North Sea, confirmed that as BP completed 50 years in the North Sea and appears to "maximise economic recovery" from here, enhancing the exploring and hitting upon different ways to collaborate, which will be important to realise its potential. The North Sea discovery helps to show both ways of realizing it, according to BBC.

The central North Sea discovery is about 150 miles east of Aberdeen, and the third one made by GDF Suez this year. GDF Suez E&P UK managing director Ruud Zoon called it an "encouraging" discovery, which showed their "active exploration and appraisal drilling programme" on the British continental shelf. The discovery is also taken to be an example of collaboration in the oil and gas industry. The ministry of oil is excited and keen to moderate the fiscal and regulatory regimes in order to ensure that complete extraction is made. The companies wanted that they should collaborate and enhance the potential of the remaining oil and gas reserves. Interestingly, North Sea oil blends hydrocarbons that is an amalgam of liquid oil as well as natural gas retrieved from reservoirs that lie under the North Sea, according to ilocis.org.