EnQuest — one of the largest employers in Aberdeen — is to invest up to £500 million in its UK oil and gas assets next year, as it moves towards bringing major projects into production.

The company, which has its corporate headquarters in London, said that production between January and October was 19.2% higher than last year at 25,567 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

That reflected strong production from existing UK hubs, such as the Thistle, Dons and Heather ‘assets’, as well as new sites in Malaysia and Tunisia.

Chief executive Amjad Bseisu said: “The growth in production to the end of October reflects continuing strong reservoir performance and top quartile production efficiency from our existing producing assets. It also reflects a substantial initial contribution from Seligi and Didon — our first producing oil fields outside the North Sea.”

Mr Bseisu said that EnQuest’s giant Kraken development west of Shetland is on schedule and on budget.

The company expects to have a drilling rig there during the third quarter of next year; it is also working on the conversion of a floating production, storage and offloading unit for Kraken. The Kraken field is expected to start producing oil in 2017.