At peak production, the Fram field - originally found in 1969 - is expected to produce around 41mn ft³/d gas and 5,300 b/d condensate, which combined equates to 12,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day. "This FID adds momentum to Shell’s North Sea production growth, following the [January 2018] decision to redevelop the UK Penguins field in the northern North Sea," the Anglo-Dutch major said in a statement.

“Fram is a simplified and cost-effective project that will allow us to develop this field profitably,” said Shell upstream director Andy Brown. No capital expenditure figure for the project was given, but Shell said that two wells will be drilled and that the liquids they produce will be transported via a new subsea pipeline to the existing Starling field and then on to the Shearwater platform through existing pipelines.

The Fram field is in UK blocks 29/3a, 29/4c, 29/8a, 29/9c in the central North Sea, some 221km east of Aberdeen.

There appears to be no link, other than by name, with the Fram field on the Norway side of the border has been producing since 2003, produces more oil than gas, is 20km north of the giant Troll gas field, and is operated by Equinor (the new name for Statoil) in the Norwegian sector of the northern North Sea; Equinor has a 45% interest, while ExxonMobil, Neptune and Idemitsu have smaller interests.