Statoil will invest $1.5billion in the Stampede development in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Norwegian company owns a 25% share in the project which is operated by Hess.
Stampede consists of Green Canyon Blocks 468,511 and 512 and there are an estimated 350million barrels of recoverable oil.
Jason Nye, senior vice president of Statoil’s US offshore business, said: “We’re very pleased to see Stampede move forward toward production in 2018.
“This field has a long production life capable of generating a consistent high volume of valuable barrels.”
Earlier this week,Chevron’s subsidiary Union announced it would invest an estimated $6billion in the project.
Stampede’s development plan calls for six subsea production wells and four water injection wells from two subsea drill centres tied back to a tension leg platform.
Gross topsides processing capacity for the project is approximately 80,000 barrels of oil per day and 100,000 barrels of water injection capacity per day.
Statoil’s co-owners in Stampede include Union Oil Company of California, a subsidiary of Chevron, Hess and Nexen with a 25% share each.
The field includes the development of the Knotty Head and the Pony discoveries, in Green Canyon blocks 511, 512 and 468.
The blocks are located 220 miles southeast of New Orleans in 3,500 feet of water and target the lower Miocene reservoirs at a depth of approximately 30,000 feet.
The Knotty Head field was discovered in 2005 and the Pony field was discovered in 2006.