Climate activists protest as legal challenge against North Sea oil and gas fields begins

Climate activists have protested outside Scotland’s highest court where a legal challenge against controversial North Sea oil fields is to go ahead.

The Rosebank site, located 80 miles west of Shetland, was green lit by the Conservative Government in September 2023.

It is the UK’s largest untapped oil field and is estimated to contain up to 300 million barrels of oil.

The protest, which is taking place outside the Scottish Court of Session in Edinburgh, will also target the Jackdaw gas field 155 miles east of Aberdeen – due to begin production in 2025.

Two environmental organisations – Greenpeace UK and Uplift – have been granted permission for a legal challenge on the two gas fields.

The environmental organisations are arguing that the impact of emissions from burning the oil and gas extracted from the fields were illegally ignored.

Greenpeace and Uplift will state in court the burning of the oil and gas while ignoring the effects on the climate is both illegal and unsafe, also stating that Rosebank will damage a protected area in the North Sea and the surrounding marine life.

Both environmental organisations will bring separate legal challenges against the UK Government’s decision to approve the oil field, and will be heard in the Scottish Court of Session.

Philip Evans, senior campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “Earlier this year, the Supreme Court made it crystal clear that the climate impact of emissions from burning fossil fuels must be assessed before any new oil and gas projects can be approved.

“It’s these types of emissions that are causing the climate chaos we’re seeing all over the world, from floods in Spain, wildfires in Brazil, and hurricanes in the US. They are destroying homes and livelihoods – but oil companies want to keep drilling for maximum profits whilst ignoring the damage they’re doing.

“That’s why we are taking Shell, Equinor and Ithaca to court to stop them in their tracks. Right now, they are continuing to develop these unlawful new fields putting people and our climate at further risk. It’s time they stop trying to con the public, the courts, and the government and immediately stop these reckless and unlawful projects.”

The UK Government earlier said it will not challenge judicial reviews brought against Rosebank and Jackdaw in order to “save the taxpayer money”.

The Rosebank oil field is situated to the west of the Shetland isles, holding around 500 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to Uplift.

The organisation says 90% of its reserves are oil and the remainder is gas, and that burning all of it would amount to 200 million tonnes of CO2.

Discovered in 2004, its development has been delayed numerous times, but in August 2022 Norwegian oil company Equinor submitted an environmental statement to the UK Government outlining its plans to develop the Rosebank field, which triggered the start of the assessment process.

Separately, Shell is building a platform at the Jackdaw natural gas field in the North Sea. It aims to extract the gas so it can be brought ashore in Scotland.

A Shell spokesperson said: “From the outset, Jackdaw has been developed in line with all relevant consents and permits. We accept the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Finch case, but our position is that Jackdaw is a vital project for UK energy security and the project is already well advanced.

“Stopping the work is a highly complex process, with significant technical and operational issues now that infrastructure is in place and drilling has started in the North Sea.

“Jackdaw will provide enough fuel to heat 1.4 million UK homes as older gas fields reach the end of production.”

The UK Government said it could not comment on live litigation.