Environment impact report on controversial Rosebank oil field in North Sea revealed

Fossil fuel giant Equinor had its application for the oil field, located some 80 miles west of Shetland, overturned earlier this year for failing to account for the emissions from burning the extracted oil.

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The courts ordered the developers to resubmit plans, with the emissions from burning the fossil fuels contained in the sites, known as scope three emissions, taken into account.

In a response to the request, Equinor said it did not have direct control or responsibility for the emissions resulting from the combustion of Rosebank’s oil and gas.

In a report, the company said: “Since the use (including whether or not this is by combustion) of the production is not within the control of the Rosebank Development, no mitigation measures that could be taken by the Rosebank Development have been identified.”

The response was published with Equinor’s refreshed environment statement in which the company said Rosebank’s scope three emissions would “contribute to climate change”, yet says the magnitude is “not significant”, claiming that continued, though declining, oil and gas use was consistent with a managed transition and that Rosebank’s emissions fall within the Paris-aligned 2C pathway.

The statement concluded that with the proposed mitigation measures in place, Rosebank “is not expected to have a significant effect on the environment”.

In January, the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled it was unlawful for the Rosebank project, and the Jackdaw gas field plans, to be given the green light.

The courts left the decision on whether the projects should go ahead with the UK government, forcing the fossil fuel giants involved to re-assess the full climate impact of plans.

Campaign group Uplift, which wants to see a “rapid and fair transition away from oil and gas production in the UK”, said whether the green light was granted for the development would be the “defining test of this government’s credibility on climate change”.

Campaigners at Fossil Free London are now planning to stage a major demonstration outside the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) in London on Saturday. Further daily protests are planned from Monday until the final decision on Rosebank is made.

Ola Morten, spokesperson for Equinor, said: “We have submitted the scope three assessment in compliance with the new environmental guidelines from UK authorities, and are looking forward to engaging with them and other stakeholders to advance the Rosebank project.

“As long as there is a need for oil and gas, it matters where and how it is produced. Rosebank is an important project for UK security and will counteract the decline in domestic production with oil and gas that has a much lower carbon footprint than today's average on the UK Continental Shelf.

“Rosebank is an important contributor to the UK’s energy security. It is a vital project for the UK economy and is already bringing significant benefits in terms of local investment and job creation.”

Meanwhile Scottish Green Party climate spokesperson Patrick Harvie said: “It would be outrageous climate vandalism for the government to let Rosebank go ahead. What Equinor is proposing would do untold damage to our environment and would do nothing to lower the amount that households are forking out to heat their homes.

“It would tie us even closer to unstable fossil fuel prices when we should be investing in clean, green renewable energy to cut bills and protect our planet.”

A DESNZ spokesperson said: “We are unable to comment on individual projects.”

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

Development there was approved by the Conservative government in 2023. However, this was challenged in the courts in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling that stated the emissions created from burning fossil fuels should be considered when granting permission for new drilling sites.