The oil field was initially operated and owned by Nexen which is now a subsidiary of China's CNOOC.

[2] The Buzzard reservoir has a low gas/oil ratio and requires pressure maintenance through water injection.

[2] Buzzard was the largest discovery in UK waters for 20 years when it was found in 2001 and went on to become the largest-producing field in the region after starting up in 2007.

[6][7] Buzzard Phase 2 is a bid to go after additional reserves to the north of the main field with a subsea development tied-back to it, with expected peak production of 5,900 cubic metres (37,000 barrels) of oil equivalent per day.

The first stage includes installation of a subsea manifold, a new processing module for the platform and drilling of four production wells.

First oil from Buzzard Phase 2 was expected in late 2020 but as of August 2020, CNOOC postponed the project to 2021.