Gross production from GKA has risen from around 5,000brl/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) in November, 2003, when Venture became field and platform operator, to over 30,000boe/d currently. The decision to invest in this new piece of North Sea infrastructure reflects the company's confidence that the GKA fields will continue to produce economic volumes for at least another decade. These volumes include current production from the existing Kittiwake, Mallard, Gadwall, and Goosander fields as well as potential production from the as yet undeveloped Christian, Grouse, Durward, and Dauntless discoveries, all of which are operated by Venture. In addition, the new pipeline will have sufficient throughput capacity to make it a viable export route for any new discoveries in the surrounding area. Any such discoveries could well be to be too small to justify their own dedicated export infrastructure. The current GKA oil export system consists of a dedicated storage and shuttle tanker that periodically ships the produced crude to its point of sale. When this tanker reaches the end of its permitted life in 2007 the new pipeline will be ready to provide for continuous export from the GKA fields. This will increase operational uptime by removing the need to periodically shut down production across the Kittiwake platform whilst the tanker either unloads or is off-station during adverse weather. The pipeline will, therefore, materially increase average daily GKA production whilst at the same time lowering overall operating costs. These two improvements will maximize recoverable reserves and thereby extend the economic field life of the GKA assets. The pipeline will be owned by a new joint venture company that has been established by Venture and an affiliate of ArcLight Energy Partners Fund III, a fund managed by ArcLight Capital, one of the investors in the recently established North Sea Gas Partners joint venture. This new pipeline-owning company will make use of a term debt facility arranged by The Royal Bank of Scotland Group and it has entered into agreements with Venture and its GKA partner, Dana Petroleum with regard to export tariffs for GKA production. The pipeline company will also benefit from third-party tariff revenue from any nearby discoveries that may be developed across the new infrastructure. Alongside the finance providers, Venture will have a significant minority ownership position in the pipeline company. The new arrangements remain subject to customary regulatory and other approvals. Venture is planning to lay the pipeline from the Kittiwake platform to the BP-owned Forties Unity platform where it will be tied in to the FPS, which will then transport the oil to market. The company estimates the total construction cost of the pipeline to be between £65 million and £70 million with an expected start-up date in late 2007.