Equinor takes FID to develop Rosebank field in the UK
Equinor Energy AS and Ithaca Energy plc have taken final investment decision to progress Phase 1 of the Rosebank development on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), together investing $3.8 billion.
The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) granted consent for field development Sept. 27.
Rosebank field lies around 130 km northwest of the Shetland Islands in about 1,100 m of water depth. Total recoverable resources (to be developed in two phases) are estimated at 300 million bbl of oil, with Phase 1 targeting an estimated 245 million bbl of oil, Equinor said in a release Sept. 27.
The field will be developed with subsea wells tied back to a redeployed floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO), with start-up planned in 2026-2027. The FPSO, with capacity of 70,000 b/d, has been designed to be electrification-ready. Equinor said it is collaborating with government and industry to pursue a regional solution for power from shore to Rosebank and nearby fields to minimize carbon emissions from production.
Oil will be transported to refineries by shuttle tankers, while gas will be exported through the West of Shetland Pipeline system to mainland Scotland.
"We know that the world needs to transition to new, cleaner energy systems and our broad energy investments into the UK support this. And while we do this there is going to be a continued need for oil and gas, which currently meets 76% of the UK’s energy needs,” said Arne Gürtner, senior vice-president upstream at Equinor in the UK.
TechnipFMC has been awarded an integrated engineering, procurement, construction, and installation contract for subsea production systems, umbilicals, risers, and flowlines with an estimated value of $500 million for the local content part.
Project management and engineering activities will be performed mainly from Aberdeen and tree systems will be manufactured in Dunfermline. Umbilicals will be produced in Newcastle, pipelines will be fabricated in Evanton and the main vessel mobilization site will also be in the UK. In addition, several other fabrication sites in the UK will contribute to the project.
Odfjell Drilling has been awarded a rig contract, with an estimated value of $328 million including integrated services, modifications, and options. The Deepsea Atlantic mobile rig is scheduled to start a seven-well drilling campaign in second-quarter 2025. Four single well options are included.
Altera has been awarded a bareboat charter and an operations and maintenance contract related to the Petrojarl Knarr FPSO which is set to be deployed on Rosebank field on a firm contract for 9 years, and options up to a total of 25 years (OGJ Online, Jan. 9, 2023).
Equinor is operator of Rosebank with 80% interest (OGJ Online, Oct. 2, 2018). Ithaca Energy holds the remaining 20%.
According to an independent socioeconomic report by Wood Mackenzie and Voar Energy, Rosebank is estimated to create £8.1 billion of total direct investment over the lifetime of the field, of which 78% is likely to be invested in UK-based businesses. It is expected to support around 1,600 jobs during the height of the construction phase of the project, and it will continue to support about 450 UK-based jobs during the lifetime of the field.