Jersey Oil & Gas, an independent upstream operator on the UK Continental Shelf in the North Sea, just bought its Verbier license more time on the clock, not a green light to build anything. The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has extended the Second Term of the company's P2170 Verbier license by about six months, to 28 February 2027, so it now runs on the same schedule as the Second Term of the neighboring P2498 Buchan Horst license.

A license's Second Term is the window in which the holder must win approval for a Field Development Plan (FDP) before moving into the Third Term, the phase covering actual development and production for the life of the field. Verbier and Buchan sit together in what Jersey Oil & Gas calls the Greater Buchan Area (GBA). The company has said the joint venture partners have always seen the area as needing a phased development plan led by exploiting Buchan's resources first, and the extension puts both licenses' Second Terms on the same 28 February 2027 end date.

Key dates and terms:

  • P2170 Verbier Second Term: extended by about six months, to 28 February 2027
  • P2498 Buchan Horst Second Term: currently on a different schedule; the joint venture plans to request a matching extension toward the end of this year
  • That Buchan request will come with an overall GBA development schedule and a further extension request for Verbier

Why the development plan is back under review

Jersey Oil & Gas's draft FDP, already submitted to the NSTA, proposed redeploying the Western Isles floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel to develop Buchan. The company says continuing industry uncertainty under successive UK governments slowed GBA development work, and enough time has passed that other production options now warrant fresh screening alongside Western Isles. The NSTA is also pushing the joint venture to look beyond its own two licenses, evaluating whether volumes held by other resource owners near a Buchan-led hub could be connected as part of one integrated plan. That screening will run into 2027, and the joint venture partners are now putting together next year's work plan and budget to fund it alongside the license extension process.

Benitz ties the delay to UK policy

CEO Andrew Benitz said the extension "aligns the timing of both of our GBA licences" while the company keeps working on the area's development engineering. He also called the area "an exciting opportunity to unlock the resources across the area" through developing a Buchan-led production hub.

Benitz used the announcement to press the UK government on the approvals process. He renewed his call for government to work with industry on oil and gas development approvals and to end the Energy Profits Levy early, which he said "unquestionably led to a significant slowdown in investment activity." He said the UK's current approval process makes it harder to advance major projects. He also pointed to hydrocarbons still meeting about 75% of the UK's total energy use, argued domestic supply should be prioritized over imports, and said he was encouraged by early signs after recent UK cabinet changes that support for the domestic industry could follow. He said real support would depend on delivering fiscal and regulatory reforms that draw in long-term investment, protect jobs, strengthen energy security and support the energy transition.