Eni Delays Goliat Field Start-Up by One Year to 2013

By Vibeke Laroi

Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Eni SpA, Italy's largest oil company, said output from Goliat field in the Barents Sea will be delayed by one year to 2013 because the company can't begin necessary purchases in time for the planned start-up.

``Production will start in 2013 instead of 2012,'' Jone Stangeland, spokesman for Eni in Norway, said by telephone today. ``The main reason is we can't get pre-investment commitments until the plan for development and operation is approved by the Norwegian parliament.''

Parliament is expected to approve the plan to develop and operate the oil discovery sometime during the spring session, Stangeland said. This won't give Eni enough time to start production by 2012, he said, adding that the start of drilling will also be delayed by a year to 2011.

Eni plans to submit its development and production plan in the first quarter of next year after making a final decision on a platform in the fourth quarter of this year, he said. The company expects to select a platform made by Aker Solutions ASA or Sevan Marine ASA, he said.

``Goliat is a key project for Eni, and we are working extensively with our partner to start production from Goliat as soon as possible following the government's approval of the plan of development,'' an Eni spokeswoman in Rome, who declined to be identified by name, said in an e-mailed comment.

Goliat, the first oil development in the Barents Sea, is estimated to contain 27.5 million standard cubic meters of oil and 3.1 billion standard cubic meters of gas, according data last year from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate

Eni is the operator at Goliat with a 65 percent stake. StatoilHydro ASA holds 20 percent and Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA has 15 percent. Det Norske last month agreed to sell its stake to StatoilHydro, with effect from the start of next year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Vibeke Laroi in Oslo at vlaroi@bloomberg.net