Britainupdated 1h ago3 min read
Miatta Fahnbulleh Says She Will Make Final Decision on Rosebank Oil Field
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh will make the final decision on Rosebank oil field. Jackdaw approval expected as Rosebank decision remains pending.
Save coverage image
A wider view of the story
Explore source coverage 4 source types
Directory totals describe our source library, not outlets checked for this story.
BBC was read line by line by the Watchdog: 0.0. See the score →
Rosebank decision pressure
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh insisted she will make the final decision on whether to approve the Rosebank oil field, not the prime minister or chancellor, and she said the decision involves a "tight" framework to avoid being overturned in the courts. Aberdeen South MP Douglas Lumsden urged Fahnbulleh to approve Rosebank after Jackdaw was given the green light, warning that rejecting the project would "unnecessarily condemn the prospects of many of my constituents." Fahnbulleh said Rosebank is about 80 miles (128km) north-west of Shetland and described the process as a "regulatory process not a policy process," governed by tests tied to the government's climate commitments.
Rosebank is Britain's largest untapped oil field and would also produce some gas, and the UK government approved production from the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea. The Aberdeen Live report said the UK Government described reports of a possible Rosebank rejection as "speculation," while it said oil produced from development near Shetland will be sold on the open market and gas produced off the Aberdeen coast will be used to meet domestic demand.
Jackdaw approval, Rosebank suspense
The Herald said Fahnbulleh told the paper that Britain needs "homegrown gas" to weather volatile foreign markets and promised there will be no delay on a decision for the even larger Rosebank development. Rosebank's approval comes after the UK government approved production from the Jackdaw gas field, and ministers framed the decision as supporting energy security and protecting jobs while insisting it is compatible with the UK's climate commitments. The Ecologist described environmental campaigners' backlash after Labour approved plans to begin drilling in the Jackdaw gas field, and it quoted Zack Polanski saying the decision to approve Jackdaw was "climate vandalism."
The Ecologist also quoted Ami McCarthy saying, "Approving Jackdaw shows the toxic grip fossil fuel lobbyists still hold over our energy policy," while it said protesters joined a Fossil Free London rally outside the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. The DiarioBitcoin report said the UK government is preparing to announce a decision about Jackdaw while delaying the future of Rosebank, and it said Rosebank remains unresolved in the public and legal debate.
Jobs, jobs, and climate tests
Aberdeen Live said Lumsden argued Rosebank would support 1,600 to 2,000 jobs during peak construction and provide up to 525 long-term, UK-based jobs, and it said he also called the move "cruel, unnecessary and uneconomic." Fahnbulleh acknowledged Rosebank is a "different proposition" to Jackdaw because the oil will be exported, and licences for both fields were granted by the then Conservative UK government in 2022 and 2023. Fahnbulleh argued she could attach conditions to limit emissions from production for homegrown gas, while she said she could not do that with imports, and it quoted her saying, "So it's a choice between homegrown gas".
The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled last year that Rosebank and Jackdaw had been unlawfully approved because the government failed to take into account the climate impact of burning extracted oil and gas from the sites. Protesters demanded the government "must not double down on madness now" and they urged it to stop Rosebank, while it quoted Robin Wells saying, "This decision is salted with the tears of every Nepalese person".