Healey backs oil drilling at Rosebank

John Healey backs drilling at the Rosebank oil field, The Telegraph understands. The Chancellor is understood to favour giving the green light to the extraction of 500 million barrels of oil at the site, 80 miles west of the Shetland Islands. However, Miatta Fahnbulleh, the Energy Secretary, who will make the final decision in the coming weeks, has indicated she is minded to turn down the application on environmental grounds. It sets up a potential split at the top of Cabinet, with Ed Miliband , the Foreign Secretary, also opposed. He previously described proposals for oil extraction at Rosebank as “climate vandalism” that would conflict with the Government’s plans to reach net zero . It would leave Andy Burnham having to referee the two sides, although, on Sunday night, Downing Street insisted that the Prime Minister was not involved in the decision. This week, Ms Fahnbulleh approved drilling at the Jackdaw gas field east of Aberdeen, saying the need to shore up Britain’s energy security outweighed environmental concerns. But she indicated that Rosebank was a different matter as most of its oil would be exported, meaning it would have no impact on energy security. Officials said she was therefore minded to object. Environmentalists warn that Rosebank, Britain’s largest undeveloped oil and gas field, would emit seven times the carbon dioxide of Jackdaw. The Chancellor is likely to be interested in Rosebank because of the revenues it could bring in at a time when he needs to find billions to spend on defence and social care. This week, he announced that profits from Jackdaw would go into a new energy wealth fund, which would be spent on green energy projects. He told ITV that the fund would be a repository for “oil and gas” profits, which some took as a hint that this could include Rosebank. Downing Street dismissed reports that Mr Burnham also supported Rosebank as speculation. One source said the Prime Minister was not involved, and the decision was one for Ms Fahnbulleh alone. The Energy Secretary made a similar point this week, when she told journalists: “Ultimately, only I can make that decision. “I’ve really enjoyed reading bits of the media. It’s like Andy’s deciding this, John’s deciding. I was like, well actually, only I can make that decision. “The framework is really tight. So even my spads [special advisers] don’t see the documents. They don’t know the decisions I’m going to make. “There’s only a tiny number of people in the department that have access to that. So it’s a really tight process for that very reason. It’s a regulatory process. It’s not a policy process.” On Sunday night, a spokesman for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said the decision on Rosebank would be made through a quasi-judicial process. It will take into account all relevant evidence, including environmental assessments and public representations received during the consultation process. The spokesman said: “We do not comment on speculation. The North Sea remains a vital national asset and oil and gas will continue to play an important role in our energy system for decades to come – alongside transitioning to clean power to protect jobs and tackle the climate crisis. “Any decision will take into account all relevant evidence, including environmental assessments and public representations received during the consultation process.” One minister told the Mail on Sunday that the Prime Minister was also in favour of new drilling, saying: “Both Andy and John have decided Rosebank needs to go ahead.” No 10 downplayed the suggestion. However, a government source told The Telegraph it was inevitable that Mr Burnham would have to get involved. “It’s a big decision and it has to sit with the Prime Minister,” the source said, “There will be various views on different sides, and he will have to give a steer on that. In the end, it’s the Prime Minister’s judgment call.” Two large unions are in favour of Rosebank. Last week, Gary Smith, the GMB general secretary, said he would “continue to press for further, essential measures that increase our domestic energy capacity, such as granting permission for Rosebank”. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said in March: “Domestic gas from Jackdaw and oil from Rosebank are essential for jobs and for energy security.” But another union, Unison, is against reopening it. Its general secretary, Andrea Egan, told The Telegraph: “Approving Jackdaw is a serious misstep from the Government, but going ahead with drilling for oil at Rosebank would be an even graver mistake. “Extracting more oil to be sold on the global market won’t reduce bills, make our energy supplies more secure or create good jobs. “It would send completely the wrong signal on the climate crisis. Just as extreme weather worsens and the impact of global heating drives up the cost of food and other essentials. “The Prime Minister must act in the best interests of the country and reject Rosebank.”