Rosebank oil field ruled unlawful by Scottish courts

In a huge victory for both Uplift and Greenpeace UK, Scotland’s Court of Session has today ruled that the 2023 approval of the Rosebank oil field was unlawful,  as it did not account for the emissions that would be caused by burning the field’s oil.

The judge ordered that Rosebank’s approval now be overturned (‘reduced’), meaning it is no longer legally valid.

The Hon. Lord Ericht’s ruling states: “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.” The decision acknowledges that the effect of burning fossil fuels on climate change and the lives of individual persons is now well recognised in law.

If Rosebank’s owners - Equinor and Ithaca Energy - still wish to move ahead with the project, they must now resubmit a new ‘Environmental Impact Assessment' to the UK government, which accounts for the field’s enormous ‘scope three’ emissions.

However, the UK government is due to respond to its consultation on how to assess the scope three emissions of new oil and gas projects, and will not approve any new fields until this concludes in spring.

The court also suspended its reduction order, pending a new decision on the field. This means that Rosebank’s owners will be able to continue preparatory work on the project but no oil or gas may be extracted.

‍Rosebank: A disaster for the climate and a bad deal for the UK

Rosebank is the UK's biggest undeveloped oil and gas field. Burning its reserves would create more than 200 million tonnes of CO2 – that’s more climate pollution than the 700 million people living in the world’s poorest nations produce in a year. 

The continued burning of oil and gas is the reason we are seeing more extreme weather, like Storm Eowyn which has claimed lives, impacted livelihoods, and caused hundreds of millions of pounds in damage.  It’s also the cause of the ever-more-frequent extreme weather around the world – including the devastating wildfires we’ve seen in Los Angeles.

The UN, the International Energy Agency and others have been clear that new oil and gas developments are incompatible with staying within 1.5C of global warming.

At the same time, Rosebank is a bad deal for the UK. It would produce mainly oil for export – Rosebank’s reserves are 90% oil and the UK exports around 80% of the oil it produces – meaning it would do nothing to lower UK household energy bills or boost energy security. Equinor has said that Rosebank’s oil would be sold on the open market.  

The UK public, however, would effectively carry almost all the costs of developing Rosebank, with the field’s owners, Equinor and Ithaca, receiving billions of pounds in tax breaks.

The field won’t protect UK jobs for oil and gas workers. In fact, its drilling ship is currently being built in Dubai. The Court noted that Equinor pushed ahead with the project despite the considerable legal uncertainty that hung over the approval. This includes hiring people whose jobs are now in the balance. As the Court says, “the developers took the risk that they were proceeding on the basis of an unlawful consent.” Equinor is now responsible for ensuring those people are looked after.

Even with the approval of new projects, jobs supported by the UK oil and gas industry have more than halved over the past decade. To deliver secure jobs and support the regions with ties to the North Sea, the government should focus on firmly establishing offshore wind manufacturing capacity in Scotland & across the UK, including building supply chains. That is where our energy and economic future lies.

Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift said:

“This is a significant win which means that Rosebank cannot go ahead without accounting for its enormous climate harm.

“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.

“Rosebank is a bad deal for the UK. Most of its oil will be exported and sold on the international market, doing nothing to lower our energy bills or boost UK energy security. As for jobs in the UK, Rosebank’s drilling ship is currently being built in Dubai, as unions have noted.

“The North Sea is in decline, with the number of jobs supported by the oil and gas industry more than halving in the past decade. As we roll out major offshore wind projects, the future of jobs in the North Sea is in building the industries that will make those wind turbines at home.  

"If Equinor and Ithaca Energy try to push Rosebank through despite this ruling, the government must reject it. To do otherwise would undermine its ambitious clean growth plans by sending a signal to investors that the UK isn’t serious about transitioning away from expensive oil and gas.

“Rosebank is not the answer to energy security, lower bills or jobs. It would simply make obscenely rich oil companies even richer, while increasing the dangers for the rest of us.”

For a full overview of today’s ruling and what it could mean for the Rosebank oil field, please consult our legal Q&A, intended for media purposes.

‍