A Scottish court has ruled that the UK government’s approval of the Jackdaw and Rosebank oil and gas projects in the North Sea was unlawful, requiring ministers to reassess the decisions.
The verdict follows a legal challenge by environmental groups Greenpeace and Uplift, which argued that regulators failed to consider downstream emissions, the emissions produced when the extracted oil and gas are burned.
The ruling, delivered by the Court of Session in Edinburgh, does not immediately halt work on the developments but prevents oil and gas extraction until the government re-evaluates its position.
Judge Andrew Stewart 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.”
Shell, which is developing the Jackdaw gas field, and Equinor, the majority owner of the Rosebank oil project, had defended the approvals.
Equinor’s partner, Ithaca Energy, is also affected by the decision. The court’s ruling means that project operators will need to wait for a fresh government review before obtaining new approvals to proceed with extraction.
Greenpeace and Uplift have maintained that the approvals for Jackdaw and Rosebank did not properly account for the emissions impact of their production. The court’s ruling now requires the government to revisit these considerations and determine whether to issue new approvals based on a more comprehensive assessment.
Uplift executive director Tessa Khan said: “The continued burning of oil and gas is why we are seeing more extreme weather like Storm Eowyn and flooding that have claimed lives and caused hundreds of millions of pounds in damage and clean up costs, not to mention the devastation it’s causing in other countries.
“Most people are now joining the dots with endless oil and gas drilling and are worried about the future.”
Equinor estimates that Rosebank contains approximately 300 million barrels of oil, with the first phase of development expected to produce around 245 million barrels. The company committed $3.8bn to the project in September 2023 after receiving approval from the North Sea Transition Authority.
Preparatory work on Rosebank can continue under the court’s decision, but Equinor and Ithaca Energy must submit a revised environmental impact assessment (EIA) addressing scope three emissions before the project can advance further.
Shell’s Jackdaw gas project, approved in 2022, is planned to connect to the company’s Shearwater gas hub. Production from Jackdaw is expected to begin in the mid-2020s, with peak output projected to supply approximately 6% of the UK’s total North Sea gas production.
The Jackdaw field, located around 250km east of Aberdeen, is expected to reach peak production of 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Shell finalised its investment decision in 2022 and has since proceeded with development work.
