Anders Opedal, CEO of Equinor, said on Tuesday that not obtaining approval for the Rosebank and Jackdaw projects would represent a major setback for the Adura project, a joint venture between Equinor and Shell in the North Sea.
Obedal said during the Energy Intelligence Forum in London, saying: “Not approving the Rosebank project would conflict with the goals of energy security and job creation.” He added that the rejection would push Equinor and other investors to question whether Britain is still an attractive investment destination.
The Rosebank and Jackdoo projects have become the focus of attention and criticism from climate activists in Britain. Greenpeace and Uplift successfully filed a legal challenge against the two projects due to the way subsequent emissions were dealt with, which led to the cancellation of the original approvals and obligating the companies to submit new applications in 2025.
The previous British government had approved the “Rosebank” project in 2023 and the “Jakdu” project in 2022.
A decision on the “Jakdu” project is expected to be issued within days, after media reports indicated that its announcement was postponed until after the by-elections scheduled for October 8.
Most of the infrastructure needed for the “Jakdu” project is already in place, which means that the gas field may begin production this winter if approved, while oil production from the “Rosebank” project may begin in the first half of 2027.
The emerging Chinese artificial intelligence company, DeepSec, is close to raising at least 80 billion yuan in its latest financing round, in a huge deal that reflects the growing appetite of investors towards Chinese artificial intelligence companies, at a time when Beijing seeks to build a technological system that is less dependent on American chips and platforms.
Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing informed sources, that the giant Chinese battery company Catel and the technology group Tencent Holdings have pledged to provide amounts that are among the largest in the current financing round.
DeepSec initially aimed to raise about 50 billion yuan, but demand from investors exceeded expectations after the successful launch of its latest artificial intelligence models, pushing the expected funding volume to at least 80 billion yuan.
The tour comes after the company launched last month its latest model, “DeepSec-V 4.1-Flash,” and said it was designed to provide greater capabilities, higher speed of reasoning, and increased ability to process requests.
This coincides with DeepSec's moves to deepen its connection with the local Chinese technology system. The company recently entered into a partnership with Huawei Technologies to develop improved software tools to work on Huawei's Ascend artificial intelligence chips.
US stock index futures rose on Tuesday, with Treasury bond yields falling from multi-year highs and oil prices falling, providing investors with some relief ahead of the start of the quarterly earnings season.
The Nasdaq index, which was dominated by technology stocks, closed at a record high level on Monday, supported by NVIDIA and Microsoft shares, as investors continued to rely on the artificial intelligence boom that pushed stock markets to record levels.
The third-quarter corporate results season begins next week, with major American banks announcing their quarterly results.
