Dana Petroleum has delayed the sanction of a new North Sea project due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.
The Aberdeen firm was due to reach a final investment decision (FID) on the Platypus development in the second quarter of this year but it has now been placed “under review”.
Platypus is a two-well subsea tie-back to the Perenco-operated Cleeton platform in the Southern North Sea.
First production is currently slated for the fourth quarter of 2022.
Up to 105 billion cubic feet of gas are recoverable from the project based on mid-case estimates, according to partner Parkmead Group.
Several North Sea projects are facing a red light due to the fall in the oil price which has impacted their economics.
In a statement submitted to the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), Dana said: “Platypus sanction was expected in Q2 2020 which is under review as we are assessing the impact of Covid-19 and the general industry economic situation.
“A further update will be published once we have a clearer picture of how we intend to move forward.”
A field development plan for Platypus was handed into the OGA in October, with Parkmead saying at the time that further resources could be recovered by a second development, Platypus East, which was previously known as Possum.
Platypus will be linked to via a 14miles pipeline to the Cleeton platform, which lies around 40miles off the English coast at Easington.