UK regulator the Oil & Gas Authority has defended a decision to approve Israeli-owned Ithaca Energy’s latest North Sea oil field project, known as Abigail, as environmentalists take the authorities to task and the industry seeks reassurance on its future role. Abigail is a relatively modest addition to Ithaca’s Stella production hub, which feeds into the Ekofisk crude pipeline system, a contributor to the North Sea Dated Brent price assessment process. The oil and gas condensate field is expected on stream in the fourth quarter 2022, according to an environmental regulatory statement on the government’s website. Crude production is expected to reach an annual peak of around 4,000 b/d in 2023 under a “mid-case” scenario, with a potential further boost from drilling a second production well.
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