Equinor, which is the Norwegian oil giant, is making a fresh push so as to drill at Rosebank oil field project which is a major oil field in the northwest of Shetland.
The Supreme Court had ruled earlier in 2025 that consent for Rosebank as well as a second field, Jackdaw, was granted unlawfully, as it did not include a complete environmental impact evaluation.
Apparently, the application took into account just the effect of extracting oil and gas from the fields and not the CO₂ that could be generated from the usage of those fossil fuels.
A fresh environmental effect report has now been published, revealing that Rosebank, which is the UK’s largest untapped oil field, will result in 250 million tonnes of CO₂, which is equivalent to its lifetime.
The report goes on to argue that while the development would raise the greenhouse gas emissions, their magnitude is not prominent when viewed in the scenario of sector-specific net zero strategies, international climate commitments, and also the policies of the UK government.
The application to go ahead with the drilling is now going to go to Ed Miliband, the UK energy secretary.
Labour, apparently, made a manifesto commitment in 2024 not to grant any sort of new oil and gas licenses, and it has not done so ever since entering the office last July.
But it did say it is not going to revoke the present licenses and would also honor those that were approved by the previous Conservative government.
The fact is that it is indeed unclear what it will do on the application for Rosebank, which has already been approved before being ruled as unlawful.
An Equinor spokesperson said that they remain completely committed to working closely along with all the relevant stakeholders in order to advance the Rosebank oil field project. As long as there is a requirement pertaining to oil and gas, it does matters where it gets produced and how.
Rosebank can very much help counteract the dip in the domestic UK production of oil and gas, which is produced with a much smaller carbon footprint as compared to the average on the UK Continental Shelf.
Rosebank happens to be a very important contributor to the energy security of the UK. It is a major project for the economy of the UK and is already bringing certain major benefits when it comes to local investment as well as jobs.
Uplift, the climate campaign group, has gone on to demand that the application be refused and for the government not to cave in to the likes of Reform from Nigel Farage, which happens to back more extraction.
Tessa Khan, the executive director, opined that the government should stick to its word and invest in clean energy, which happens to be powering the growth, and at the same time stop propping up an industry that is now only viable with phenomenal state support. She further said that it must not allow a declining oil and gas sector, or for that matter its cheerleaders in politics, to go ahead and dictate UK energy policy. This Labour government has to do the right thing and must reject Rosebank.
And the Scottish Greens has said that granting the license is sure going to be climate vandalism. Patrick Harvie, the environment spokesperson, said that what Equinor is proposing would do untold damage to the environment and will, as a matter of fact, do nothing to lower the amount that households are forking out so as to heat their homes.
It would tie them even closer to the unstable fossil fuel prices when one should be investing in clean, green renewable energy so as to cut bills and safeguard the planet.
The fact is that there is no safe or climate-friendly level when it comes to new drilling. If the UK government happens to be remotely serious about their environment, it is surely going to reject this application for good.
