Equinor CEO warns UK may become 'uninvestable' if Rosebank and Jackdaw are refused

Mixed · 2Anders Opedal, chief executive of the Norwegian state-controlled energy company Equinor, has warned that the UK's attractiveness to investors would be in doubt if the government refuses approval for the Rosebank oil field and the Jackdaw gas field. 1 2 Centre · 1Opedal said: "The question will be: is the UK investable in the future? I hope it will not come to that." He told the BBC Equinor would "have to take a hard view about it" if new drilling were rejected. 1 Right · 1Speaking at the Energy Intelligence Forum in London, he said refusing Rosebank would be "contradictory to energy security, to job creation" and a "major setback". 2

Centre · 1Opedal said he remained confident both projects would be approved, citing Prime Minister Andy Burnham's talk of a "pragmatic approach to oil and gas", but called the current limbo "an uncomfortable position to be in". 1 Mixed · 2He said the licence was awarded in 2001, the discovery made in 2004 and the final investment decision taken in 2023, and that Adura had applied for consent twice and "has done everything it has been asked to do". 1 2 Centre · 1Opedal also said the UK could produce more of its own oil and gas, calling it "a political choice" and noting the same geology on both sides of the UK-Norway median line. 1

Centre · 1Rosebank, about 80 miles north-west of the Shetland Islands, is the UK's largest undeveloped oil and gas field and is thought to hold up to 500 million barrels. Both it and Jackdaw are operated by Adura, a joint venture of Equinor and Shell, and Aberdeen-based Ithaca owns 20% of Rosebank. 1 Mixed · 2Both fields were approved under the previous Conservative government, but work was halted after a Scottish court ruling in a challenge by environmental groups, who argued consent was given without fully considering the climate impact. 1 2 Mixed · 2A public consultation closed in August, and the final decision now rests with Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, who has promised pragmatism. The BBC said the decision comes despite a ban pledged in Labour's manifesto, while GB News said Labour has banned new exploration licences but promised to honour existing ones. 1 2

Mixed · 2Adura has said Jackdaw could supply gas to UK homes this winter if approved soon, as construction is "99% complete", and GB News reported Rosebank could deliver first oil in the first half of 2027. 1 2 Right · 1GB News reported that a decision had been widely expected last month, and that the Conservatives accused Labour of delaying until after the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, in which Green Party leader Zack Polanski is standing. The government says no date had been fixed and that there is a mass of documentation to go through. 2 Mixed · 2Tessa Khan, executive director of the campaign group Uplift, said Rosebank "won't cut our bills" and was a "bad deal for Britain", describing the oil as "overwhelmingly oil for export" that would enrich Equinor and the Norwegian government, and said Labour's "climate credibility is also on the line". GB News noted that Ed Miliband once called Rosebank "climate vandalism". 1 2

Centre · 1A government spokesperson said the North Sea remained a "vital national asset" and oil and gas would keep an important role "alongside transitioning to clean power", and that any decision would weigh all relevant evidence, including environmental assessments and consultation representations. 1 Centre · 1The BBC added context on energy security: UK production is forecast to halve by 2035, the UK relies on Norway for half its gas, and Norway continues to issue new licences in its own North Sea waters. 1