Green campaigners' fury as drilling approved at Rosebank oilfield in North Sea

27 September 2023 , 07:44

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Drilling can begin at Rosebank in the North Sea (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Furious campaigners hit out today after “morally obscene” drilling was approved at Britain’s biggest untapped oilfield.

Activists claimed allowing firms to develop the Rosebank site in the North Sea would hamper attempts to tackle climate change and curb emissions. But supporters said it would boost UK energy security and provide jobs.

The North Sea Transition Authority said consent has been given by the oil and gas regulator to owners Equinor and Ithaca Energy. Rosebank lies north-west of Shetland and contains up to 350 million barrels of oil. An NSTA spokesman said: "We have today approved the Rosebank Field Development Plan which allows the owners to proceed with their project. The FDP is awarded in accordance with our published guidance and taking net-zero considerations into account throughout the project's lifecycle."

Rosebank could produce 69,000 barrels of oil per day - about 8% of the UK's projected daily output between 2026 and 2030, and could also produce 44 million cubic feet of gas every day, according to Equinor. But Greenpeace climate campaigner Philip Evans said: “Rishi Sunak has proven once and for all that he puts the profits of oil companies above everyday people. We know that relying on fossil fuels is terrible for our energy security, the cost of living and the climate. Our sky-high bills and recent extreme weather have shown us that.

“The ugly truth is that Sunak is pandering to vested interests, demonstrating the stranglehold the fossil fuel lobby has on Government decision making - and it’s bill payers and the climate that will suffer because of it. Why else would he make such a reckless decision? This decision is nothing but carte blanche to fossil fuel companies to ruin the climate, punish bill payers, and siphon off obscene profits.”

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Green MP Caroline Lucas said: “Giving the green light to this huge new oil field is morally obscene. This Government must be held accountable for its complicity in this climate crime. Amidst a summer of raging wildfires and the hottest July on record, this Government approves the biggest undeveloped oil and gas field in the North Sea – set to produce more than the combined CO2 emissions of all 28 low-income countries in the world.”

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The Government welcomed the decision. Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho said: "We are investing in our world-leading renewable energy but, as the independent Climate Change Committee recognise, we will need oil and gas as part of that mix on the path to net zero and so it makes sense to use our own supplies from North Sea fields such as Rosebank. The jobs and billions of pounds this is worth to our economy will enable us to have greater energy independence, making us more secure against tyrants like (Vladimir) Putin. We will continue to back the UK's oil and gas industry to underpin our energy security, grow our economy and help us deliver the transition to cheaper, cleaner energy."

Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds blasted the decision but said Labour would not overturn it if it wins power. “We don't support Rosebank,” he told Times Radio. "We wouldn't grant it but we wouldn't revoke any licences that are granted before a general election - and we've done that to try and provide a degree of investment certainty for the UK environment because that has been absolutely trashed by the Conservative Government.”

The companies behind the Rosebank oil field, Ithaca Energy and Equinor, said they had taken their final investment decision to invest $3.8billion (£3.1bn) in the project in the first phase of development. They said the field is expected to start producing in 2026-2027, with the project supporting around 1,600 jobs at its peak during construction, and long-term will supply around 450 jobs.

Equinor’s senior vice president Arne Gurtner said: "We know that the world needs to transition to new, cleaner energy systems and our broad energy investments into the UK support this - and while we do this there is going to be a continued need for oil and gas, which currently meets 76% of the UK's energy needs." Ithaca's executive chairman Gilad Myerson said: "Rosebank stands as the largest undeveloped field in the UK, and with the receipt of development consent from the NSTA, we are now poised to embark on a journey that will not only provide critically important domestic energy but also ignite substantial economic impact."

Norway's Equinor supplies 29% of the UK's gas and 15% of its oil.

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