Statoil has made the investment decision to develop the Mariner oil field development in the UK North Sea. The project entails investments of more than USD 7 billion and is the largest new offshore development in the UK in more than a decade.

"Statoil has extensive heavy oil experiences from offshore fields in Norway and Brazil. The Mariner field was discovered in 1981 and Statoil entered the license as operator in 2007 with the aim of finally unlocking the resources. We are satisfied that we now are able to make an investment decision for a profitable development of the Mariner field," says Lars Christian Bacher, executive vice president for Development and Production International in Statoil.

"The Mariner project is a good strategic fit for Statoil. We are the world's largest offshore operator and have a portfolio of attractive projects in some of the most prolific basins in the world. The North Sea is a core area for Statoil, and we look forward to taking a leading role in further developing also the UK part of this basin," Bacher adds.

Pending final approval of the field development plan by the UK authorities, Statoil expects to start production from Mariner in 2017. The field is estimated to produce for 30 years, with average production of around 55,000 barrels of oil per day over the plateau period from 2017 to 2020.

Tags: Statoil