Energy firm not backing down over North Sea threat despite Jackdaw green light

Energy giant Equinor said its threat to withdraw investment in the North Sea has not changed following the decision to approve Jackdaw. The firm, which owns a stake in both the Jackdaw gas and Rosebank oil field developments, said the remarks by their CEO on withdrawing future investment should the projects not be approved ‘remain the same’. It comes after the UK Government ’s energy secretary announced last Wednesday that the gas field had been given production approval after years of legal battles with environmental campaigners.

A decision has yet to be made on whether to approve Rosebank – an oil field off the coast of Shetland – which would produce oil mainly for export, as opposed to Jackdaw which will produce a lot of gas for use in the UK. Both sites are owned by Adura, a joint venture between Norwegian energy firm Equinor and British firm Shell. Aberdeen firm Ithaca energy also owns 20 per cent of Rosebank. Equinor told the Scottish Mail on Sunday: ‘As an Adura shareholder, we are obviously pleased that the company got the consent to go ahead with Jackdaw and we expect that the same will follow for Rosebank’.

Asked about whether their position had changed on withdrawing future investment in the North Sea, a spokesman said: ‘The CEO’s messages remain the same.’ Equinor boss Anders Opedal previously said the firm would have to ‘take a hard look’ at whether the UK was ‘investable in future’ should both Jackdaw and Rosebank not be approved. The Jackdaw gas production platform in the North Sea, 250km east of Aberdeen Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh and Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Healey visit Aberdeenshire after the Jackdaw announcement He told an energy conference that as a major investor in the UK, Equinor was ‘looking forward to timely re-approval of the licences in line with the pragmatic approach to the North Sea that PM Burnham recently underlined’ and added: ‘As investors we look for predictable framework conditions. 'Trust, stable framework conditions, and long-term energy investments are deeply connected.

Trust goes both ways: governments and industry must be able to rely on each other to deliver on their commitments.’ In July oil giant BP put its entire North Sea oil and gas business up for sale, which could end the company’s 60-year presence in the area. Andrew Bowie MP and the Tories’ shadow energy secretary said the UK government now had to approve Rosebank to protect the North East. He said: ‘Jackdaw alone will not change the fortunes of the North Sea oil and gas sector. ‘Its approval must be the first step in opening the door for a bigger pipeline of projects to ramp up North Sea oil and gas. ‘Our world-leading oil and gas industry is in the grip of deep and growing uncertainty caused by the irrational hostility of both Labour and the SNP. ‘International companies like Equinor constantly tell me that they are operating in a hostile political environment. ‘It should therefore surprise no-one when they decide they have no option but to take their jobs and investment elsewhere. ‘For the UK to be investable for companies like Equinor, Rosebank must be urgently approved, Labour must end its ban on new licences, and the Energy Profits Levy should be scrapped.’

The Scottish Greens, who oppose both projects, voted through a motion at their conference yesterday [Sat] declaring Jackdaw an act of ‘environmental vandalism’ and urged John Swinney to also oppose the development. The UK Government is expected to make a decision on Rosebank in the near future.