The UK government has welcomed the decision by regulators to approve the new Rosebank development – with the UK’s highly skilled oil and gas industry strengthening energy security and growing the economy.
While the government is scaling up homegrown clean energy sources such as offshore wind and nuclear, the UK still relies on oil and gas and this will continue to be the case over the coming decades.
The oil and gas industry adds £17 billion (€19.5 billion) annually to the economy, supports around 200,000 jobs, and will provide around £50 billion (€57.5 billion) in tax revenue over the next five years.
According to Equinor’s estimates, the Rosebank project represents a direct investment of approximately £8.1 billion (€9.3 billion), of which £6.3 billion (€7.2billion) is likely to be invested in UK-based businesses, with the developer also estimating that at its peak the field producing 69,000 barrels of oil and 44 million cubic feet of gas per day.
The Rosebank development – as well as other oil and gas projects – has been subject to extensive scrutiny by the regulators, including undergoing a detailed environmental impact assessment process and a period of public consultation before approval was granted.
All new projects, including Rosebank, will be in line with the natural decline of the North Sea basin.
Green light for UK oil field development
