Rosebank decision moves closer as consultation closes
A DECISION on the controversial oil field Rosebank has moved a step closer after a public consultation on the development closed today (Monday).
Developer Adura – a firm created by the merger of Equinor and Shell’s UK offshore operations – welcomed the milestone ahead of a formal decision on whether the development can go ahead.
The field is located around 130 kilometres northwest of Shetland, and is the largest undeveloped oil field in the region – with expected resources estimated at more than 350 million barrels of oil equivalent.
Work has been continuing on Rosebank despite a court ruling which means the UK Government is having to re-consider the development’s approval following a challenge from climate campaigners.
Oil will bypass Shetland, but gas will go through a pipeline to Sullom Voe Terminal.
Climate campaigners both locally and nationally have been urging the UK Government not to proceed with Rosebank, while trade unions and the oil and gas sector have pointed to the jobs and money the project will create.
Adura said that the £8.7 billion project would generate 3,500 jobs at peak construction, and would then provide 880 “high-quality, well-paid jobs” throughout production, as well as sustaining 125 apprenticeships.
Rosebank is projected to produce around 69,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak, equivalent to roughly 10 per cent of anticipated UK Continental Shelf oil output, Adura said.
The company’s chief executive Neil McCulloch said the closure of the public consultation was a “major step” on the path to Rosebank potentially opening.
“We are grateful to everyone who has engaged constructively with the consultation process and made their views known, including businesses and organisations representing thousands of workers across the UK energy industry and its supply chain.
“We look forward to continuing to work constructively with the regulator as it completes its consideration of these two important projects.”
Shetland’s MSP Hannah Mary Goodlad, who formerly worked for Norwegian energy firm Equinor before standing for public office, told Shetland News last week that this was “not a decision for the Scottish Government”.
Asked about Rosebank, Goodlad said that she did not have all the facts to make a comment on the project.
“There has to be a jobs perspective, and there also has to be a procurements perspective,” she said.
“How much is staying within the supply in the country?
“So if I had all that data, then I would be able to make an assessment. But I don’t. We don’t. And it’s down to these facts rather than opinions on it.”
Goodlad added that she saw it as “quite a nuanced perspective from a CO2 footprint, from a price perspective, and then also from a human rights safety perspective.”
“It’s just complex, and I don’t have all the facts to take a decision,” she said.
The Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) will now consider the consultation’s findings, before a final ministerial decision.
Rosebank could be up and running in 2027 if given full UK Government approval.
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