The oil and gas developers Equinor, Ithaca, and Shell have vowed to continue work on the controversial Rosebank and Jackdaw North Sea projects despite the Scottish court ruling the projects unlawful on Thursday.
The judgement prohibits drilling but allows the companies to resubmit their consent applications and continue preparatory work at the sites. Rosebank is the largest untapped oil and gas field in the UK.
The ruling is in response to cases brought by two environmental groups who argued that the approvals of the oilfields had not taken into account the carbon emissions created by burning any oil and gas produced and were therefore invalid.
They also stressed the projects' incompatibility with the UK's international obligations and emissions targets and negative impacts on biodiversity in the North Sea.
Last year, the government announced that it would not challenge the judicial review brought by Greenpeace and Uplift against the consent decision for the two oilfields.
The government decision followed the landmark Supreme Court "Finch" ruling, which has set a precedent for tightening environmental scrutiny for UK fossil fuel developers by requiring them to assess and disclose downstream emissions in environmental impact assessments.
This increases the likelihood of legal challenges, delays in project approvals, and stricter planning conditions, making it harder to secure permissions.
A spokesperson for the UK's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said the government is expected to provide more clarity on whether the oilfields will go ahead in Spring.
They said: “We will respond to this consultation as soon as possible and developers will be able to apply for consents under this revised regime. Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives towards our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills, and good, long-term jobs.”
Equinor and Ithaca, which have an 80% and 20% stake in Rosebank respectively, had received their approvals in 2023 under the previous Conservative government.
The government of Norway is by far Equinor’s largest shareholder (67%), followed by Norway’s Government Pension Fund via Folketrygdfondet (4%), Blackrock (1.5%), and Vanguard (1.2%).
The Israeli exploration and production company Delek Group has a 52.2% stake in Ithaca.
Shell claims to have spent more than £800m on the Jackdaw site since the regulator approved the project in 2022.
In an affidavit provided to the court, Shell argued that a 12-month suspension of ongoing work at Jackdaw would cost the firm £200m and cause a significant delay to the project start up.
Stopping work permanently on Jackdaw and decommissioning the already installed infrastructure would likely cost more than £350m, the firm claimed.
Outlining the judgement, Lord Ericht said: "The public interest in authorities acting lawfully and the private interest of members of the public in climate change outweigh the private interest of the developers."
Uplift and Greenpeace welcomed the court ruling, calling it a “significant win” for the climate.
