On Wednesday, the British authorities gave consent to the development of the controversial Rosebank oil and gas field in the North Sea, near the northwestern coast of the Shetland Islands, to the Norwegian energy giant Equinor, writes News.ro with reference to CNBC.

The UK government said it had given the go-ahead to operator Equinor and British energy company Ithaca Energy, which own 80% and 20% of the perimeter respectively, after “extensive regulatory scrutiny”, including of the project’s environmental impact. .

Shares of Ithaca Energy rose 7% after the announcement, while Equinor shares rose about 1%.

Rosebank is the UK’s largest undeveloped oil field.

Equinor says the project will be implemented in two phases and expects to attract direct investment of £8.1bn (€9.35bn).

The company expects the start-up phase to take place in 2026-2027 and estimates Rosebank’s recoverable resources at more than 300 million barrels of oil for the two phases.

“We are investing in our world-leading renewable energy, but as the Independent Panel on Climate Change recognizes, we will need oil and gas as part of the mix on our way to zero production, so it makes sense to use our own resources in the North. Sea like Rosebank,” said UK Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: “We are accelerating (the development of) renewable energy and nuclear power, but we will still need oil and gas for decades, so let’s get more of what we need from British waters.”

The Rosebank development has faced repeated delays and intense public backlash amid questions about its environmental impact.

Combustion of oil and gas

Rosebank will produce more than 200 million metric tonnes of CO2, #StopRosebank campaigners say, promising in a statement on Wednesday that “the fight is far from over” and the group is “pressing the UK to reverse this terrible decision and let’s use all the tools , that we can stop this field,” because “climate justice demands no less.”

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas expressed similar sentiments on Wednesday.

“It is morally indecent. It won’t improve energy security or lower bills, but it will violate our climate commitments and destroy global leadership. The government is complicit in this climate crime and so is Labor if they don’t commit to doing everything they can to reverse it,” she said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Approval of the Rosebank development comes after Britain confirmed plans in July to issue hundreds of new licenses to extract oil and gas in the North Sea, despite a stated aim to decarbonise all sectors of the national economy by 2050.