Norway’s Equinor EQNR.OL said on Thursday it and its partners in the Wisting oil discovery in the Arctic Barents Sea had postponed the investment decision for the project amid rising costs and market uncertainty.

Equinor last year said it planned to invest up to 75 billion Norwegian crowns ($7.21 billion) to develop Wisting, which would become the world’s northernmost oilfield.

Equinor in a statement on Thursday said it was now aiming for an investment decision, scheduled previously for December this year, by the end of 2026.

“In our updated investment estimate for the project, we see a cost increase due to increased global inflation and cost growth in the supply industry nationally and internationally,” Equinor said.

“There is also uncertainty about the framework conditions for the project and execution capacity in the supplier market.”
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom, editing by Stine Jacobsen and Terje Solsvik)