UK Government urged to ‘do the right thing’ and reject Rosebank development

Climate campaigners have challenged the UK Government to “do the right thing” and turn down plans for drilling in the Rosebank oil field.

The group Uplift – which wants to see a “rapid and fair transition away from oil and gas production in the UK” – said whether the green light is granted for the development would be the “defining test of this Government’s credibility on climate change”.

It came as it was confirmed Equinor, which owns an 80% majority stake in the oil field, confirmed it has submitted a scope 3 assessment – setting out all associated greenhouse gas emissions for the project, in compliance with new guidelines from UK authorities.

And the company said it is “fully committed” to working with all relevant bodies to “advance the Rosebank project”.

The Rosebank field, which is located some 80 miles west of Shetland, is the UK’s largest untapped oil field and is estimated to contain up to 300 million barrels of oil.

Development there was approved by the Conservative government in 2023, but this was challenged in the courts in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling which stated that the emissions created from burning fossil fuels should be considered when granting permission for new drilling sites.

However an Equinor spokesperson confirmed the Norwegian state owned company had now submitted a response to the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (Opred) which includes these “scope 3” emissions.

The Equinor spokesperson stated: “We remain fully committed to working closely with all relevant stakeholders to advance the Rosebank project.

“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 job creation.”

Campaigners at Fossil Free London are now planning to stage a major demonstration outside the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in London on Saturday – with further daily protests planned from Monday October 20 until the final decision on Rosebank is made.

Robin Wells, director of Fossil Free London, said: “In the face of this decision on the biggest undeveloped oil field in the North Sea, we must be crystal clear. Rosebank will be the defining test of this Government’s climate promise.”

Similarly Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said: “Rosebank is the defining test of this Government’s credibility on climate change.

“This enormous oil field is not consistent with the UK’s climate commitments. The world already has so much more oil than is safe to burn.”

Ms Khan added that Labour ministers “must not cave into the pro-oil and gas, anti-science agenda of Donald Trump, who thinks climate change is a ‘con job’, and Nigel Farage whose policies would destroy thousands of UK renewable energy jobs and worsen the extreme weather we’re already experiencing”.

She continued: “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.”

Meanwhile Scottish Green Party climate spokesperson Patrick Harvie said: “It would be outrageous climate vandalism for the Government to let Rosebank go ahead.

“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.”

Mr Harvie added: “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.”

A DESNZ spokesperson said: “We are unable to comment on individual projects.”