Equinor has confirmed the sanction date for the Rosebank project in the West of Shetland has been pushed back to next year, after Ithaca Energy made the claim last night.
The Norwegian operator had previously targeted a key final investment decision in May of this year, following a decision three years ago to push its targeted sanction date from 2019.
An Equinor spokesperson said: “We have a close dialogue with UK authorities on the next steps and expect FID next year.”
It comes after Ithaca Energy announced last night a $1.5bn deal to acquire Siccar Point Energy, giving the former a 70% operated stake in the Cambo project in the West of Shetland and a 20% non-operated holding in Rosebank.
Ithaca said both are expected to reach FID next year.
Along with Cambo, Rosebank is one of the largest untapped discoveries in UK waters, with an estimated 300 million barrels of oil recoverable, according to some estimates.
The three Rosebank licences are due to expire at the end of May, though Equinor may seek an extension from the North Sea Transition Authority.
Before selling to Ithaca, Siccar Point Energy was granted a two-year licence extension for the Cambo project last month as it hit an expiry date.
In February, Equinor signed a contract with Altera Infrastructure to use the Knarr FPSO at Rosebank.
The Norwegian firm has been involved in a concept study using the Altera Infrastructure-owned Knarr floating production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) vessel, already making it a strong candidate for the project.
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