OSLO – Norway’s Equinor (NYSE: EQNR) is still considering reducing its 80% stake in Britain’s Rosebank oilfield as it seeks to bring the share in line with that of its other assets, Chief Financial Officer Torgrim Reitan told Reuters on Wednesday.
The current 80% ownership is higher than Equinor likes to have in a single asset, Reitan said on the sidelines of the company’s second-quarter results presentation.
“Rosebank is a good and very profitable project. It is a process we are working on and there is progress,” he added.
The Rosebank project to develop one of the last known major oil reservoirs in Britain has been a lightning rod for climate activists calling for a halt to fossil fuel production activity.
Last month, Reuters reported that Equinor (NYSE: EQNR) had suspended its Rosebank sales process ahead of the British election, with the new Labour Party government looking to increase taxation of the oil and gas sector.
Reitan said Equinor had a good dialogue with the Labour Party.
“What is important to us is that the deduction rights for investments against tax must be maintained in the future,” he said.
Overall, Labour’s manifesto on energy contained many positives such as a focus on facilitating increased activity and ensuring that Britain was an attractive place to invest, the CFO added.
The $3.8 billion Rosebank project, of which Ithaca Energy owns 20%, is set to come on stream in 2026-2027, Equinor has said.
The company plans to invest some 10 billion pounds in the UK by 2030 across oil, gas, renewables, and other energy-related projects, Reitan said.
“But we depend on a good tax system that is predictable and business-friendly,” he added.
(Source: Reuters)
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