Regulators have given the green light to drill in one of the largest undeveloped oil and gas fields in the North Sea in a £3.1bn initial investment.

Norwegian state energy company Equinor has received the go-ahead to progress with the Rosebank field roughly 80 miles west of the Shetland Islands.

The company expects to produce 300m barrels of oil from the field in its lifetime.

The North Sea Transition Authority said: “We have today approved the Rosebank Field Development Plan which allows the owners to proceed with their project.”

Britain’s Ithaca Energy is Equinor’s partner on the project, which is expected to lead to £8.1bn of total direct investment.

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