Oil giant resubmits application to drill Rosebank oil field

Norwegian oil giant Equinor is making a fresh push to drill at Rosebank, a major oil field located north-west of Shetland.

The Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that consent for Rosebank and a second field, Jackdaw, was granted unlawfully because it did not include a full environmental impact assessment.

The application took into account only the impact of extracting oil and gas from the fields, but not the CO2 that would be generated from the use of those fossil fuels.

A fresh environmental impact report has now been published, revealing Rosebank – the UK’s largest untapped oil field – would result in 250 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over its lifetime.

The report argues that while the development would increase greenhouse gas emissions, “their magnitude is not significant when viewed in the context of international climate commitments, sector-specific net zero strategies, and UK Government policies”.

The application to go ahead with drilling will now go to UK energy secretary Ed Miliband.

Labour made a manifesto commitment last year not to grant any new oil and gas licenses and indeed it has not done so since entering office last July.

However, it did say it would not revoke existing licenses and would honour those approved by the previous Conservative government.

It is unclear what it will do about the application for Rosebank, which has been approved before being ruled unlawful.

A spokesperson for Equinor said: “We remain fully committed to working closely with all relevant stakeholders to advance the Rosebank project. As long as there is a need for oil and gas, it matters where and how it is produced.

“Rosebank can help counteract the decline in domestic UK production with oil and gas that is produced with a much smaller carbon footprint than the average on the UK Continental Shelf.

“Rosebank is an important contributor to the UK’s energy security. It is a vital project for the UK economy and is already bringing significant benefits in terms of local investment and jobs.”

Climate campaign group Uplift has demanded that the application be refused and for the government not to “cave in” to the likes of Nigel Farage’s Reform, which backs more extraction.

Executive director Tessa Khan said: “The government must stick to its word and invest in clean energy, which is powering growth, and stop propping up an industry that is now only viable with massive state support. It must not allow a declining oil and gas industry, or its cheerleaders in politics, to dictate UK energy policy. This Labour government must do the right thing and reject Rosebank.”

And the Scottish Greens has said granting the license would be “climate vandalism”. Environment spokesperson Patrick Harvie said: “What Equinor is proposing would do untold damage to our environment and would do nothing to lower the amount that households are forking out to heat their homes. 

“It would tie us even closer to unstable fossil fuel prices when we should be investing in clean, green renewable energy to cut bills and protect our planet.

“There is no safe or climate-friendly level of new drilling. If the UK Government is remotely serious about our environment it will reject this destructive application for good.”