Oil and gas operator Serica is reconsidering how to develop a North Sea gas field after BG Group said the discovery could not be linked to one of its developments.
Serica had planned to build a bridge-linked platform (BLP) at Columbus, connecting the find to the nearby Lomond installation, but BG has rejected the proposal.
Alternative options will now be considered by Serica, including tying it directly to the BG-operated Lomond field.
Tony Craven Walker, Serica chairman and interim chief executive, said: “The decision by BG not to construct the Lomond BLP was unexpected, but we are confident that we will be able to conclude alternative export arrangements and limit the impact on Columbus, which remains commercially viable as a separate field development.
“It is important at a time of severe gas shortages in the UK that we bring ashore as expeditiously as we can those reserves of gas and related liquids which still remain to be developed in the North Sea.”
A spokeswoman for BG said: “Following assessment of the project, BG Group will not proceed with the construction of a planned BLP. For every project that BG Group undertakes, we apply strict criteria to ensure it delivers value for our shareholders and in this case these criteria were not met.”