Core Viewpoint - Equinor's Rosebank oil field project has been suspended due to regulatory requirements for a comprehensive lifecycle carbon emissions assessment in the environmental impact report [1] Group 1: Project Overview - The Rosebank oil field, discovered in 2004, is located 130 kilometers northwest of the Shetland Islands and is estimated to hold 336 million barrels of oil equivalent, making it the largest undeveloped oil and gas field in UK waters [1] - The project was initially planned to commence development drilling in Q2 2025, with a peak production forecast of 70,000 barrels per day of crude oil and 1.8 million cubic meters per day of natural gas, potentially meeting 7% of the UK's oil demand at its peak [1] Group 2: Regulatory Changes - A ruling by the Scottish Supreme Civil Court in 2024 mandated that environmental impact assessments must include not only direct emissions from extraction but also downstream emissions from the combustion of oil and gas [1] - Following this ruling, the UK Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) required Equinor to resubmit the environmental statement according to the new regulations, leading to the suspension of the project at a critical decision-making stage [1] Group 3: Timeline Implications - Equinor is required to submit the revised assessment documents by the end of 2025, but new permits are not expected to be approved until at least 2026 [1] - Consequently, development drilling has been postponed to early 2026, with production start potentially delayed until after 2027 [1] - Market participants have noted that this situation highlights the uncertainty of the regulatory environment in the UK North Sea [1]