Chevron Corp. (CVX), the second-largest U.S. oil company, said it will start design work to develop the Rosebank offshore oil and gas discovery west of the Shetland Islands in the U.K.

Rosebank, discovered in 2004, has potential recoverable resources of 240 million barrels of oil, Chevron said in a statement today. The field will be developed using a floating production, storage and offloading vessel.

“The efforts by the U.K. government to stimulate development in this important region have enabled the progression of this project,” said Brenda Dulaney, managing director, Chevron upstream Europe. “Rosebank is an important project for Chevron in Europe.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Will Kennedy in London at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net