Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has said she will make the final decision on whether to approve the Rosebank oil field, rejecting suggestions that the prime minister or chancellor will determine the outcome.
Rosebank, about 80 miles (128km) north-west of Shetland, is described as the UK’s largest untapped oil field. It would also produce gas, with its oil expected to be transported by tanker for sale on international markets.
Decision subject to legal tests
Fahnbulleh said the decision was governed by a “tight” framework intended to ensure it could withstand legal scrutiny. She described it as “a regulatory process not a policy process”, rather than a decision for ministers to settle through political negotiations.
“Ultimately, only I can make that decision,” she told reporters at a lunch for political journalists in Westminster. Fahnbulleh said she would consider the project’s climate impact alongside economic factors including jobs and growth.
She added that only a “tiny” number of people in her department had access to the relevant documents, saying: “You’ve got to read the documents and you’ve got to come to the right balance.”
Rosebank faces environmental opposition
The UK government approved production from the Jackdaw gas field earlier this month, arguing that domestic production would strengthen energy security and support jobs while remaining compatible with climate commitments. Ministers have made similar arguments in support of North Sea development.
Environmental campaigners oppose Rosebank, arguing that it would do little to improve UK energy security or reduce bills and would produce substantially more greenhouse gas emissions than Jackdaw. The project is politically more difficult for the government because its oil would be exported, whereas most of Jackdaw’s gas is expected to be used in the UK.
Both fields were licensed by the former Conservative government in 2022 and 2023. The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled last year that their approvals were unlawful because the government had not accounted for the climate impact of burning the extracted oil and gas.
The UK government must now decide whether to approve the projects again, with input from industry regulators. Labour has said it opposes new exploration licences but will consider new production projects connected to existing facilities.