Eni says to delay Goliat FPSO decision

OSLO, Dec 19 (Reuters) - Italian energy group Eni (EN.MI) said on Friday it has delayed its decision on picking a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) unit for the Goliat oil discovery in the Barents Sea from its end-2008 deadline.

"We have postponed the FPSO to ensure we are capturing all the benefits from the recent fall in the cost of materials and construction," an Eni spokesman told Reuters.

He said the timing of the decision was unclear but added that: "Eni is committed to go ahead with (developing) Goliat."

Norwegian oil services companies Sevan Marine (SEVAN.OL) and Aker Solutions (AKSO.OL) have both bid for the Goliat FPSO contract, previously seen worth around $1.4 billion.

With resources of about 173 million barrels of oil and 3.1 billion cubic metres of gas, Goliat could become the first oil project in the Barents, neighbouring the Snoehvit gas field and LNG facility on Norway's northern tip.

Eni has 65 percent of Goliat and is the operator, with Norwegian StatoilHydro (STL.OL) holding the rest.

(Reporting by Wojciech Moskwa)