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Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves want two new controversial oil and gas fields in the North Sea, despite concerns among lawmakers and the environment around huge carbon emissions from projects.
Last week the top civic court in Scotland seized Consent for Shell’s Jackdaw Gasfield and the Rosebank project of £ 3 billion that developed Norwegian Equinor and British Ithaca Energy.
The developers are expected to apply for new permits after the Government issues guidelines on how to consider the applications with regard to the Supreme Court’s 2024 judgment, which is mentioned from burning fossil fuels must be included during the environmental impact assessment.
“Our position is clear, we supported those fields,” said one ally of Starmer. “The problem arose because it was determined that the regime of the previous government was illegal. New applications will have to pass a new regime, but our position on the existing fields is very clear: we support them.”
Equinor Executive Director Anders Opedal told the Financial Times that he expects the Government to support the project given the promise of work to allow existing petroleum products to continue, even while blocking a new research.
“We expect the Government to move forward with this project,” he said. Last month, the judgment of the court allowed the developmental work to continue, he said, adding that Rosebank remained “on the trail” for the start of production 2027.
Philippe Mathieu, Equinor Executive Director, eventually in charge of Rosebank, said the company in a “continuous and constructive” dialogue with the Energy Department, Desnz.
He said that Equinor expects to receive clarity about new regulatory requirements by April, and then he will submit a new environmental impact study.
Rosebank is the largest underdeveloped oil reserve in the UK, and it is considered to contain 500 million barrels of oil.
Court of the session Ruling last week The aforementioned permissions approved for Jackdaw 2022, and Rosebank had to be reviewed in 2023 due to the judgment of the Supreme Court in a separate case known as Finch.
The verdict threatened to threaten the government approach to oil and gas in the North Sea.
Ed Miliband, Energy Secretary, 2023 – When the Labor was in opposition – he described the license issued to Rosebank as “a colossal loss of taxpayers and climate vandalism.”
But Reeves said last week that we “were really clear in his [election] The manifesto to honor all existing licenses, including Rosebank and Jackdaw, and we will adhere to those obligations. “
Clive Lewis, Labor MP, told the BBC that Britain “has the opportunity to show the global leadership” of climate politics, “this is what Brexit was.”
“We are thoughtful to be a social democratic government that has climate obligations, it is time to reinforce and fulfill those obligations that we have taken over the British public just a few months ago.”
The government currently produces new guidelines for environmental impact assessments in response to Finch’s decision, which will be published in the spring. The guidelines are expected to set a bar for the fossil fuel projects.
Energy companies will then have to resubmit environmental impact assessments on the oil and breakdown of the environmental oil and breakdown, Quango corresponding to Miliband.
People who are familiar with the government’s thinking have said that the Labor will adhere to their manifest commitment to complete the research in new fields, although there could be some “wrap room” for the operators. “Some [environmental] People won’t like it, “one said.
However, Desnz has postponed the publication of this new consultation in the midst of a wider government concern about how to see it in the US, where Donald Trump has avoided a supporter of fossil fuels.
Although the Government of Labor is dedicated to achieving a net zero carbon emission by 2050, the United Kingdom trajectory would continue to involve burning huge – although decreasing – the amount of fossil fuels over the next 25 years.
“The government consulted the guidelines to ensure the safety of the industry. Oil and gas will be with us for decades to come, “said a spokesman for Downing Street.
“We are advocating to manage the North Sea and existing petroleum fields. After issuing these guidelines, developers will be able to return to the request for consent in accordance with this revised regime. “
In the meantime, the Government is ready to publish a consultation on how his new oil and gas licensing regime in the North Sea will operate with long -awaited limitations of a new research.
