Equinor expected to begin Rosebank drilling soon
Equinor is preparing to begin drilling operations for the Rosebank field development west of Shetland, according to a public offshore activity notice and industry sources.
The upcoming drilling campaign marks a key milestone for one of the UK Continental Shelf’s largest undeveloped oil and gas projects.
The Rosebank field lies about 130 km (81 miles) northwest of the Shetland Islands in the Faroe-Shetland Channel, in water depths of roughly 1,100 m (3,608 ft).
The development plan includes drilling four production wells, three water-injection wells, and two plug-and-abandonment wells during the first phase, with the potential for additional wells in a later phase depending on early results.
Produced hydrocarbons will be transported through new subsea flowlines to the redeployed and refurbished Petrojarl Knarr FPSO, where the fluids will be processed before export. Gas from the project will be transported through a new pipeline linked to the West of Shetland Pipeline System, while oil will be offloaded to shuttle tankers.
Subsea installation work began in 2024, with first drilling planned for March 2026 and first oil targeted for 4Q 2026, although this could fall back to late 2026/early 2027, according to reports.
The Rosebank development is part of the existing licensed North Sea portfolio (not a new exploration license), a consideration which has enabled it to advance under current UK policy despite the government's broader stance against new oil and gas licenses.
Rosebank is expected to operate for approximately 25 years once production begins. Equinor is the operator of the project on behalf of license partners Equinor UK Ltd. and Ithaca SP E&P Ltd.
About the Author
Bruce Beaubouef
Managing Editor
Bruce Beaubouef is Managing Editor for Offshore magazine. In that capacity, he plans and oversees content for the magazine; writes features on technologies and trends for the magazine; writes news updates for the website; creates and moderates topical webinars; and creates videos that focus on offshore oil and gas and renewable energies. Beaubouef has been in the oil and gas trade media for 25 years, starting out as Editor of Hart’s Pipeline Digest in 1998. From there, he went on to serve as Associate Editor for Pipe Line and Gas Industry for Gulf Publishing for four years before rejoining Hart Publications as Editor of PipeLine and Gas Technology in 2003. He joined Offshore magazine as Managing Editor in 2010, at that time owned by PennWell Corp. Beaubouef earned his Ph.D. at the University of Houston in 1997, and his dissertation was published in book form by Texas A&M University Press in September 2007 as The Strategic Petroleum Reserve: U.S. Energy Security and Oil Politics, 1975-2005.