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The UK’s largest untapped oil and gas field has been given the green light by the regulator, amid warnings about the climate damage of new fossil fuel projects.
Norwegian state oil giant Equinor expects to pump 325 million barrels of oil from Rosebank, 80 miles west of Shetland, from 2027.
The UK government says more oil will add to energy security, although the majority will likely be exported.
It is the UK’s last major undeveloped oil site, three times the size of the controversial Cambo oil field, which was the subject of huge, high-profile protests in 2021 before being paused last year.
The contentious decision is one part of a broader row over whether the UK should continue to develop new oil and gas fields, with Labour pledging to end North Sea exploration.
Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho said although the government is investing in renewable power, “we will need oil and gas as part of that mix on the path to net zero and so it makes sense to use our own supplies”.
Green Party MP Caroline Lucas called the decision “morally obscene”.
She said energy security and cheaper bills would be better achieved by “upscaling abundant and affordable renewables, and properly insulating the nation – ensuring clean air and water, thriving nature and wildlife, and high-quality skilled and stable jobs in the process.”
Tessa Khan, executive director of campaign group Uplift, said: “We are teetering on the edge of surpassing 1.5Cof warming – a limit agreed on by world leaders and essential to ensuring a habitable planet.
Yet the government allows companies like Equinor to “blow through” pollution targets “for the sake of profit.”
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