Rosebank is a proposed oil and gas field in the North Sea, west of Shetland, to be developed by Equinor with partner Ithaca Energy. The UK government has reopened its decision on whether the project should go ahead and is taking public comments until 20 November 2025. After that, Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, will make the decision.

Why the decision is back on the table

In January, Scotland’s highest civil court quashed the 2023 approval because the original decision failed to consider the pollution released when Rosebank’s oil and gas would be burned – so-called scope 3 emissions. The judgment forces a do-over that counts end-use emissions before any fresh decision.

The scale and the climate stakes

Equinor’s own filing puts total lifecycle greenhouse gases at roughly 254 million tonnes CO₂e, with ~249 million tonnes from scope-3 (combustion) in a high-case scenario, underscoring that most harm comes when the oil is burned, not from running the platform. That is the core issue now under review. Approval would commit public support to new extraction just as the UK should be prioritising home insulation, clean heat and renewables – investments that cut bills and emissions without locking in decades of new oil.

Public money, private profit

Rosebank sits inside a tax system that lets oil companies write off a large chunk of their spending against tax. In practice, that means the public underwrites much of the upfront cost of new fields, while the companies keep the revenues when the project pays off. Two things make this lopsided. First, investment allowances: spending on new North Sea projects can be offset to reduce tax bills now and in future years, so the risk is socialised early. Second, decommissioning relief: at the end of a field’s life, companies can reclaim a big share of cleanup costs against past tax paid. Together, these rules shift risk onto the public both before production and after production, while profits accrue to the operators.

Link to Gaza genocide

Equinor is named as the designated operator, while Ithaca Energy holds 20% and is indirectly majority-owned by Israel’s Delek Group. Delek appears on a UN list of companies involved in illegal settler activities in Palestine, and also provides fuel to the IOF. Public money and policy should not support companies profiting from a genocide.

Bills, ‘energy security’, and the ecosocialist view

Backers say Rosebank would support jobs and ‘energy security’. But oil from UK waters is sold into global markets, not used at home. Experts note new fields do little to cut household bills. From an ecosocialist standpoint, real security comes from warm homes and clean power built and owned here, alongside a planned, worker-led just transition in the North Sea, regardless of the Rosebank decision.

What happens next

Officials will consider the new documents and submissions after 20 November, before Ed Milliband takes a fresh decision. If approval comes without a convincing treatment of end-use emissions, further legal challenge is possible. If Rosebank goes ahead, it won’t be because we lacked alternatives, only because ministers chose oil over a livable future.

Sign the petition: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/the-government-wants-to-hear-from-you-on-equinors-application-for-rosebank 

Campaign hub: https://www.stopcambo.org.uk/