STATOIL has delayed the start of production from the giant Mariner oil field East of Shetland after the costs of the project spiralled. The Norwegian oil and gas giant said it decided to push the start up back from 2017 to the second half of 2018 noting the projected costs of the development had risen around 10 per cent over the original $7 billion plan. News of the delay to the biggest field start up in the UK for more than 10 years will be greeted with dismay by ministers as the North Sea industry battles with the fallout from the plunge in the crude price. Lying about 95 miles off Shetland, Mariner contains 250 million barrels reserves and is expected to produce around 55,000 barrels per day. Tove Stuhr Sjoblom, head of Statoil’s UK exploration and production business, blamed the hold up on delays on building work in a shipyard in South Korea. She added: “We have a much better understanding of the Mariner reservoirs now than when the project was sanctioned (in 2012). We see opportunities for more targeted drilling, potentially reducing drilling costs whilst accelerating and increasing recovery.” Statoil still expects to increase employee numbers in the Aberdeen UK production base from 140 to around 200 as work on Mariner progresses but the recruitment timetable will be pushed out.