EnQuest plans to invest 4 bln stg in North Sea Kraken field - report

Nov 15 (Reuters) - British independent oil producer EnQuest (Frankfurt: 3EQ.F - news) Plc is expected to announce on Friday it will invest 4 billion pounds ($6.4 billion) to extend development of the Kraken field in the North Sea, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The project at the field, east of the Shetland Islands, could create 20,000 jobs during its construction phase, the newspaper said.

Enquest (LSE: ENQ.L - news) will spend 1.12 billion pounds by the time it supplies the first oil from the new development in 2016-2017, according to the report. The rest of the investment will be spread over the 25-year lifetime of the project.

"It's an important investment for the U.K. - the largest investment this year," the newspaper quoted Chief Executive Amjad Bseisu as saying.

EnQuest, which specialises in extending the life of old oil fields, produces all of its oil in the North Sea.

Britain launched a review of the North Sea earlier this year as it attempts to stem recent big falls in production from output which has been in decline since 1999.