The development of Rosebank, the UK’s largest undeveloped oil and gas field, has been delayed due to environmental activism by groups such as Stop Rosebank.
Other activist groups, namely Greenpeace and the “all-purpose” activist group Coal Action Network, have targeted the UK coal industry, commissioning research that is not fully published, leading to the closure of mines and power stations, and job losses.
The Rosebank field was discovered in 2004 and it took nearly two decades to receive government approval. Following extensive evaluations and delays, the UK government granted development consent in 2023. Environmental groups, such as Greenpeace and Uplift, have played a pivotal role in challenging the approval.
Rosebank, the largest undeveloped oil field in the UK, is estimated to contain 300-500 million barrels of oil equivalent, with peak production of about 70,000 barrels of oil and 44 million cubic feet of gas per day. Drilling has been delayed because the Supreme Court’s 2024 Finch v Surrey County Council ruling required that all new UK oil developments account for their Scope 3 emissions when assessing their environmental impact. Scope 3 emissions are those produced by users of the oil and gas produced from the field. The Scottish Court of Session upheld this ruling as affecting the Rosebank application retrospectively in January 2025....<<<Read More>>>...
