A court in Scotland blocked the production of oil and gas on Thursday on two major project locations that were developed in British waters until their impact on climate change can be assessed.
The decision was a blow to the developers of the sites, Shell and the Norwegian company Equinor, who have already issued or committed hundreds of millions of pounds for the projects. But judge Andrew Stewart of Scotland's session said that the companies could continue to drill and perform other work at the locations until the government made a decision whether they could produce oil and gas.
The oil and natural gas fields, called Jackdaw and Rosebank, are seen as tests for the flagging British oil industry because of their size and because Shell and Equinor are two of Europe's largest energy companies. Jackdaw was expected to start producing in 2026, while Rosebank would be online in 2026 or 2027.
Uplift, an environmental group, who joined Greenpeace in a lawsuit to stop production, called the statement 'an important victory'.
The ruling shows to the extent that activist groups can use the courts in Britain to block or hinder activities, such as drilling for oil and gas that they say it could threaten the environment.
The oil companies welcomed the concession of the judge with which they can continue with some work, but Shell brought a memory of how much was at stake.
“We have spent more than £ 800 million since the Jackdaw regulator approved in 2022,” Shell said in a statement. “Fast action is needed from the government, so that we and other North Sea operators can make decisions about vital British energy infrastructure.”
Shell added that Jackdaw could produce enough fuel to heat 1.4 million houses at a time when other fields are approaching the end of their productivity.
Equinor said it had already drawn up £ 2.2 billion in contracts for Rosebank, a large oil field with an estimated 300 million barrels of oil and gas. The energy giant said it was planning to invest £ 10 billion in Great Britain in the coming years, with many of them to the wind and carbon trap that promotes the British government.
The government of the Labor Party of Prime Minister Keir Starmer is pushing hard for investments to strengthen the British economy, but it is still to see whether the oil and gas industry will be part of these efforts.
The government is reconsidering its permit procedures in the light of a statement from 2024 by the Supreme Court of Great -Britain that the assessments of oil and gas projects must include the impact that has the burning of fuels on the climate. New guidelines are expected later this year.
In his ruling on Thursday, Judge Stewart followed the Supreme Court and said that the two projects in the North Sea should be suspended to give the government time to develop criteria to assess their impact on the climate.
Ithaca Energy, a minority partner in Rosebank, argued in the case that the suspension of the project “would influence the international perception of the UK, including the reputation for inner investments.”
But Judge Stewart did not seem to be convinced by that argument. “The public interest in authorities who lawfully act lawfully and the private interest of members of the public in climate change weigh heavier than the private interests of the developers,” he said in his ruling.
