Oil and gas giant Shell says construction work is progressing well on the first new manned vessel for the company in the northern North Sea for 30 years, following delays.
Chief financial officer Sinead Gorman updated journalists yesterday on the outlook for the group's projects, following publication of its first-quarter results.
The production vessel for Penguins, a redevelopment of a tie-back field to the Brent Charlie hub, had been due to leave China in March 2021, but has been hit by Covid and lockdown-related delays.
It's now understood a sailaway of the third quarter this year is being targeted.
Asked about the timeline by Energy Voice, Ms Gorman said: "With respect to Penguins...I'm not going to give you a date, I will be careful on that in that sense, but we are progressing it well."
Penguins is expected to unlock 80million barrels of oil.
On British energy supply, Ms Gorman pointed to the Jackdaw gas project, which the firm is seeking permission to develop from the UK Government as "incredibly attractive".
Jackdaw, about 155 miles east of Aberdeen, has reserves of between 120million-250million barrels of oil equivalent.
Shell was rebuffed by the regulator last year for its plans on the project, but has recently resubmitted another proposal - this time as a tie-back to the Shearwater hub, which it is hoping to get approval for.
Meanwhile, the company's chief executive yesterday warned that Europe faces a "tough winter" if supplies from Russia are all cut off.
The Telegraph reports that Ben van Beurden said there was "no silver bullet" to end the energy crisis, but pressing ahead with schemes such as Jackdaw would help the continent cope with a full embargo.
He added that Europe will also need to ramp up imports of liquified natural gas from further afield, improve energy efficiency and boost investment in renewable power schemes such as wind farms.
Mr van Beurden went on: "We are acutely aware of all the difficulties that high energy prices bring, particularly, of course, for the more vulnerable customers. It is very painful for a lot of people.
"The big contribution that a company like us needs to bring actually goes back to the purpose of the company - it's to provide more and cleaner energy solutions.
"Starting up Pearce, bringing on Jackdaw, Penguins, etc - all these things will help bring new supply into the UK and therefore alleviate market conditions."
He said investing in domestic production in the North Sea would "help global dynamics", adding: "The North Sea is a very good basin with a lot of oil and gas left...and there are lots of opportunities that have near-term development potential."
Mr van Beurden also called for the UK Government to reduce the time it takes for wind farms to be developed, saying the current 10-year timeframe could be slashed to five years.
FTSE 100
Meanwhile, Brent crude futures were up 0.53% earlier today at $111.54 a barrel.
The top UK share index, the FTSE 100, was down 26 points at 7,477 following yesterday's nine-point rise.
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