“Stybarrow One well has been operating at near record-setting rates for West Australia, producing approximately 32,000 barrels of oil per day,” the company said.

“To date, in less than two months of operation, Stybarrow has offloaded a total of 2.5 million barrels of oil.”

The achievement is based in part on the use of advanced real-time monitoring technology delivering high standards of control and management of the flow from individual wells, according to BHP.

“Downhole and subsea tree pressure and temperature gauges allow engineers to manage the drawdown to maximise production and ensure prudent management of the reservoir,” the company said.

“The sophisticated monitoring equipment has also improved the operating efficiency of the FPSO topsides facilities.”

The Stybarrow project involves a nine-well subsea development and a floating production storage and offtake (FPSO) vessel, the Stybarrow Venture.

At a water depth of about 825m, the development is in production licence block number WA-32-L in the Exmouth Sub-basin, about 65km from Exmouth.

Project costs for Stybarrow are around US$760 million, shared 50:50 between BHP Billiton and partner Woodside Energy.

Discovered in 2003, the Stybarrow and nearby Eskdale fields have estimated recoverable oil reserves of 60-90 million barrels. The estimated economic field life is 10 years.