Untapped North Sea field ‘worth £24bn’

THE North Sea’s largest untapped oil and gas field could be worth more than £24billion to the UK economy, according to investors.

Equinor has submitted plans to develop the Rosebank field, located 80 miles north-west of the Shetland Islands.

The Norwegian firm took over operation of Rosebank in 2019 and the company says the field, which is expected to start production in 2026, will create up to 1,200 jobs and would account for 8 per cent of UK oil production until 2030.

Arne Gürtner, senior vice president for UK and Ireland, said: ‘Rosebank is an incredibly exciting project, with long-term investment, development and engineering potential which will create value for the UK economy and help provide energy security for decades to come.’

The Rosebank field would be able to produce an average of 21 million cubic feet of gas daily and will also become ‘one of the first energy developments on the UK continental shelf to be powered by electricity’.

Liam Kerr, Scottish Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport, told the Mail: ‘Decreasing reliance on energy from abroad will result in better regulation, a more stable market for the consumer and the ability to better plan the reduction in demand as we transition to net zero.’

The application comes after Shell gained approval to start drilling at the Jackdaw field.

Another field, Abigail, was approved by the Oil and Gas Authority in February, just three months after COP26 in Glasgow.

Professor John Underhill, Director of the Centre for Energy Transition at Aberdeen University, welcomed the news, saying: ‘The move to decarbonise is a transition and cannot be a cliff edge so having indigenous sources is vital.’