(Oslo) The Norwegian oil giant Equinor announced on Thursday that it was postponing its investment decision for the Arctic oil field Wisting in the Barents Sea, the northernmost in the world, to the end of 2026.
Due to a surge in the estimated cost of the project, the Norwegian public group and its partners “have decided to postpone the investment decision scheduled for December,” Equinor said in a press release.
“The maturation of the project continues with a view to an investment decision by the end of 2026”, specifies the group.
Located about 300 kilometers north of the North Cape, Wisting represents an investment estimated by Equinor at 104 billion crowns, or about 10 billion euros, against 75 billion previously.
A sharp increase in the figure due to the global inflationary wave, difficulties in the energy markets after the invasion of Ukraine and capacity and logistics problems among suppliers.
Even though Equinor cites soaring costs, several environmental organizations have hailed good news for the climate and the Arctic.
The deposit was discovered in 2013, just 50 kilometers from the winter ice limit.
In addition to Equinor, which owns 35% of the project, Wisting brings together the Norwegians AkerBP (35%) and Petoro (20%) and a subsidiary of the Japanese Inpex (10%).
