Global Courant
A view of Sullom Voe Terminal, an oil and gas terminal in the Shetland Islands in September 2021.
Adriaan Dennis | Episode | Getty Images
LONDON – British regulators on Wednesday gave permission to Norwegian energy giant Equinor to develop the controversial British offshore Rosebank field in the North Sea, just off the northwest coast of the Shetland Islands.
The North Sea Transition Authority said she has also given the necessary permission.
The British government said it has cleared operator Equinor and British energy company Ithaca Energy – which own 80% and 20% of the field’s shares respectively – to continue following “extensive regulatory investigations”, including in relation to the environmental consequences of the development.
Equinor says the project will be carried out in two phases and estimates it will generate £8.1 billion ($9.8 billion) in direct investment.
‘We are investing in our world-leading renewables, but as the independent Climate Change Committee recognises, we will need oil and gas as part of that mix on the way to net-zero, which is why it makes sense to use our own supplies from North America. Marine fields such as Rosebank,” Claire Coutinho, secretary of UK Energy Security and Net Zero, said in a statement.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: “We are accelerating renewables and nuclear power, but will still need oil and gas for decades to come – so let’s get more of what we need from British waters.”
The Rosebank development has faced intense public backlash due to concerns about its environmental impact. The approval comes after Britain confirmed plans in July to issue hundreds of new oil and gas permits in the North Sea, despite a stated target to decarbonise all national sectors of the economy by 2050.
This is a current news story and will be updated soon.
