Juergen Maier said the state-owned energy firm would not begin making investments until next year.

Lawyers and campaigners have made their arguments before Lord Ericht in Edinburgh this week.

Equinor said it was investing £2.2bn in the project, providing employment for 4,000 people.

Climate campaigners are bringing a legal case they hope will halt drilling at two huge fossil fuel projects.

Campaigners want to stop the Rosebank oil and Jackdaw gas fields, but oil companies say they are vital.

Texas-based Apache says the windfall tax on energy profits will make its operations "uneconomic".

The UK government previously said that Great British Energy would be headquartered in Aberdeen.

The government is increasing the windfall tax on oil and gas companies and extending it to March 2029.