Danish energy company Maersk Oil, which has struggled during the market downturn, said it started work on a platform slated for a mega North Sea project.

The company started cutting steel at a Singapore shipyard for a platform associated with its $4.5 billion Culzean project in the British waters of the North Sea. With a peak production rate of up to 90,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the company said Culzean field is the largest discovered in the area in more than a decade.

"When the field begins to produce in 2019, Culzean will become a key contributor to Maersk Oil's ambition to become a Top 5 operator in the North Sea in the 2020s, and provide around 5 percent of British gas demand at peak production," Maersk Oil Chief Executive Jakob Thomasen said in a statement.

Maersk Oil said this week it was looking for a viable long-term economic model for its Tyra gas complex in the Danish waters of the North Sea as installed facilities reach the end of their lifespan. If an "economically viable solution" is not identified this year, Maersk said it would cease production from the Tyra East and Tyra West fields in the Danish waters of the North Sea by Oct. 1, 2018.

Facing pressure from the downturn in the energy sector, the company last week said it was closing its offices in Houston and would manage any of its assets in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico from its offices in Copenhagen.

Culzean is located about 145 miles offshore and, once in full swing, should remain in production for at least 13 years. The project was sanctioned in August with Japanese and British partners.

"Our focus for the next three years is working with our partners and suppliers to deliver the project from fabrication right through to commissioning safely, on time and within budget," Thomson said.