Court quashes multi-billion-pound Rosebank and Jackdaw oil field approvals

The approval of the North Sea oil fields has been quashed while a revised environmental impact assessment is submitted.

Key Points
  • Judge upholds legal challenge by environmental campaigners against decision to approve new North Sea oil and gas fields
  • The Rosebank oil field is north west of Shetland and the Jackdaw gas field is off the Aberdeen coast
  • The UK Government and North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) acted unlawfully when granting consent to the projects
  • Environmental impact assessments did not take into account downstream emissions from the burning of extracted fuels
  • Construction can continue on the developments but no extraction can take place until fresh approvals are issued
  • The UK Government’s revised environmental guidance is due to published in the spring

The approvals of two controversial multi-billion-pound oil and gas fields have been quashed.

The highest court in Scotland ruled that government approvals for the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields were unlawful due to their failure to assess the climate impact of downstream emissions.

Environmental groups Greenpeace and Uplift raised legal action at the Court of Session in Edinburgh against the decisions to grant the development and production of the fields.

The ruling on Thursday means both developments must be reconsidered with full environmental assessments, and no extraction can take place until new assessments that consider the environmental impact of burning fuels extracted are submitted.

Construction for the Rosebank oil field north-west of Shetland and the Jackdaw gas field off Aberdeen, however, can continue.

Climate activists demonstrate against Rosebank and Jackdaw developments outside of the court of session on November 12, 2024 in Edinburgh.Getty Images

“The public interest in authorities acting lawfully and the private interest of members of the public in climate change outweigh the private interest of the developers,” supreme court judge Lord Ericht said in his ruling.

“The factors advanced by Shell, Equinor and Ithaca in respect of their private interest do not justify the departure on equitable grounds from the normal remedy of reduction of an unlawful decision.”

Shell and Equinor confirmed work will continue on both Rosebank and Jackdaw while a revised environmental impact assessment is submitted following consultation.

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. 

Jackdaw platform aerial view at Aker Solutions Verdal Norway.Shell

Developed by Equinor, with Ithaca holding a 20% interest, its production life was expected to last around 25 years. Drilling at Rosebank was due to begin in 2025.

The Jackdaw gas field 155 miles east of Aberdeen was due to begin production in 2025. The developer of the Jackdaw project is BG International Ltd, part of the Shell Group.

The site is an ultra-high pressure / high temperature gas condensate field in the Central North Sea. Production at the field was due to begin next year and expected to last around eight years.

At its peak, Shell predicted that it would be capable of producing around 6.5% of the UK’s gas production.

“Swift action is needed from the Government so that we and other North Sea operators can make decisions about vital UK energy infrastructure”

Shell

Campaigners argued that new oil and gas projects are not compatible with the UK’s climate commitments.

The climate groups argued in court that for both Rosebank and Jackdaw, the impact of emissions caused from burning the oil and gas extracted from those fields, otherwise known as scope 3 or downstream emissions, was “unlawfully ignored” by the oil companies and the previous government.

Philip Evans, senior campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said: “This is a historic win – the age of governments approving new drilling sites by ignoring their climate impacts is over.

“Fossil fuels are an economic dead end. Now that the ball is back in the government’s court, ministers have the opportunity to sort out the legal mess left by their predecessors.”

“The continued burning of oil and gas is why we are seeing more extreme weather like Storm Eowyn”

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift, said: “The continued burning of oil and gas is why we are seeing more extreme weather like Storm Eowyn and flooding that have claimed lives and caused hundreds of millions of pounds in damage and clean-up costs, not to mention the devastation it’s causing in other countries.

“Most people are now joining the dots with endless oil and gas drilling and are worried about the future.”

Shell’s proposals to develop the Jackdaw field was approved in 2022 and the oil and gas giant said it had spent £800m since then.

A spokesperson said: “Today’s ruling rightly allows work to progress on this nationally important energy project while new consents are sought.

“Swift action is needed from the Government so that we and other North Sea operators can make decisions about vital UK energy infrastructure.

“When operational, Jackdaw would provide enough fuel to heat 1.4 million UK homes, at a time when older gas fields are reaching the end of their production and the UK is reliant on imported gas to meet its energy needs.”

Equinor and its Rosebank partner, Ithaca, said they had already committed more than £2.2bn on the development.

An Equinor spokesperson said: “We welcome today’s ruling and are pleased with the outcome which allows us to continue with progressing the Rosebank project while we await new consents.

“Rosebank is critical for the UK’s economic growth, with an estimated 77% (£6.6bn) of total direct investment benefiting UK businesses.”

Equinor said it would be submitting a downstream emissions assessment in full compliance with the Government’s new environmental guidance which is due to be published this spring.

The UK Government has already consulted on revised environmental guidance to take into account emissions from burning extracted oil and gas.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the new guidance would “provide stability for industry, support investment, protect jobs and deliver economic growth”.

“We will respond to this consultation as soon as possible and developers will be able to apply for consents under this revised regime,” they said.

“Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives towards our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills, and good, long-term jobs.”

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