A planned final investment decision (FID) on a multi-million barrel North Sea field has been delayed once again.
Repsol Sinopec Resources UK now expects to make a call on the Tain project in the Outer Moray Firth in the second quarter of next year.
It had originally been expected in Q2 2021, but the operator revealed earlier this year that a decision had been delayed until Q3 2022.
And Repsol Sinopec has now pushed the date back again, according to an update given on the North Sea Transition Authority’s energy pathfinder database.
A field development plan for Tain has already been approved by the regulator.
It is expected to produce around 10 million barrels of “undersaturated light oil”, with an expected peak at first oil in the region of 8,000 barrels per day.
As per the development plan, Tain will be produced via two wells, tied back to a new subsea manifold that will transport fluids to the Bleo Holm FPSO, just over 10 miles away.
The Bleo Holm vessel currently serves the Blake and Ross fields, both of which are operated by the Spanish-Chinese joint venture.
Brownfield topside modifications are also needed as part of the project, and front-end, engineering and design (FEED) activities “continue to progress”, Repsol Sinopec said.
First production is still on the slate for next year, according to the project pathfinder, though project execution is conditional on an FID.
Repsol Sinopec operates Tain, discovered in 2005, with a 50% stake, partnered with RockRose Energy, which holds the remainder.
The field was previously one of two development analysts tipped to bolster global subsea tree demand.
Westwood Global Energy Group named Tain, as well as Siccar Point Energy’s Cambo development, as “key upcoming subsea tree contract awards to watch” in Q3 2021.
Subsea trees are placed at the wellhead of a field where they monitor and control production of hydrocarbons.