The UK government has acknowledged in court that its approval of the massive Rosebank oilfield off Shetland was unlawful. Chris Pirie KC, a lawyer for the government, admitted in an Edinburgh court that the previous Conservative administration failed to consider “the effects on climate of the combustion of oil and gas to be extracted from the fields.”
The Rosebank oilfield development has sparked controversy, especially regarding the issuance of new drilling licenses in the UK. Last year, the UK’s North Sea Transition Authority approved the project, which is being led by Equinor ASA and Ithaca Energy. The government, under former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, argued that such projects were crucial for boosting domestic oil and gas production, reducing costs for consumers, and ensuring “energy security” as the country transitions to cleaner energy sources.
However, a report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) found that new oil projects like Rosebank will only contribute a small amount to the UK’s petrol consumption. The report suggests that these fields will add less than 1% of the petrol used by UK cars within the next seven years. Critics argue that this comes at a significant reputational cost for the UK, which is seen as a leader in green energy.
Dr. Simon Cran-McGreehin, head of analysis at ECIU, told The National that approving more oil drilling does little for the UK’s energy security. He pointed out that oil and gas are part of global markets, and 80% of the oil extracted from the North Sea is exported and processed abroad. “It doesn’t help with security of supply,” he said. “Who knows where it ends up as fuel?”
Even if the UK kept all of its North Sea oil, it still wouldn’t meet the nation’s energy needs. Cran-McGreehin noted that the country now uses more oil than it produces, meaning it would need to import oil anyway. He also warned that continuing to approve new oil projects damages the UK’s reputation as a climate leader.
In 2022, the UK’s crude oil production stood at about 320,000 barrels per day, meeting only 20% of the country’s consumption. Furthermore, only 13% of that oil is refined in the UK, a figure that the ECIU predicts will drop to just 1% by 2030 as North Sea production continues to decline.
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