In Scandinavian folklore the Kraken is a giant squid-like creature that can sink ships. For Enquest, the oil and gas group, its Kraken is a North Sea oilfield that cost about $2.3 billion and has not quite performed as expected since it went into operation in the summer of 2017.
What was supposed to have been a big beast producing 50,000 barrels a day has been dogged by delays, equipment problems and service outages. Average production has hovered at about 30,000 barrels per day, resulting in Cairn Energy, which holds a minority stake in the field, writing down the value of its interest this year.
Enquest was founded in 2010 through the merger of the UK North Sea businesses of Petrofac and Lundin Petroleum.