FIRST Minister John Swinney has declined to either support or oppose the development of the controversial Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
The SNP leader faced pressure to back the developments from the Conservatives and from former SNP minister Fergus Ewing at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday.
It comes after a court ruling last week which saw the previous Tory-run UK government’s decision to approve development of the fields ruled unlawful. Lord Ericht said the decision to grant consent should be “reduced” (quashed) and reconsidered.
Labour are facing internal splits over the news, with MPs reportedly at “breaking point” with Keir Starmer’s administration – which reports have said is minded to approve the development in a drive for economic growth.
“This is absolutely a line in the sand for almost everyone in the PLP [parliamentary Labour party],” one MP told The Guardian.
The SNP also face internal debate over whether or not to support the development of the Rosebank oil field, the Jackdaw gas field, or both.
Equinor is the majority state-owned Norwegian firm which is aiming to develop Rosebank. Jackdaw is owned by Shell, which holds a 100% stake in the North Sea gas field.
Speaking at FMQs, Ewing said: “We are in a time of huge international tension and an ever increasing risk of trade tariffs.
“The First Minister mentioned energy security. Is not the best way to protect energy security here and in Europe, is to produce as much oil and gas as we possibly can?
“Not least because, as the First Minister I hope will know, the Equinor plan for the development of the Rosebank field states that the carbon footprint will be half the level of the existing North Sea average, and given it will be electrification ready, that could reduce to three kilogrammes of carbon per barrel, which is 25 times less than the carbon footprint of fracked gas from the USA and Qatar.
“So, which is better for the environment, producing our own or helping Donald Trump?”
“It will also dictate the approach I take on energy policy and encouraging the move to sustainable energy security by the investments that we make in offshore renewables, again supported by the government's Budget.”
Scottish Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden also pushed the First Minister on the oil and gas fields.
“Our North Sea workers are being failed by the Labour Government and are being failed by this devolved SNP Government,” the Conservative said.
“The decision on Rosebank and Jackdaw is a hammer blow to the north east, and we will import more oil and gas instead of using our own resources and supporting our own workers.
“A poll by True North shows that nearly three-quarters of Scots back the North Sea oil and gas industry.
“So will the First Minister also back the industry and drop his disastrous presumption against new oil and gas production before more jobs are lost?”
In his response, Swinney said that decisions on “offshore oil and gas licencing and consenting are currently reserved to the United Kingdom government”.
“We've been consistently clear that the UK Government should approach these decisions on a rigorously evidence-led case-by-case basis with robust climate compatibility and energy security being key considerations.”
“We all realise that we are going to have to make a transition from dependence on fossil fuels, unless of course, we are going to deny the climate crisis that we are facing. I, for one, am not going to deny the climate crisis that we face.
“But equally, I want to do everything I can to support the transition for the workforce in the north east of Scotland, just as I would like to see us in a position to do more to support the workers at Grangemouth who have been served with redundancy notices, and I am deeply concerned by the lack of impetus that we have been able to secure particular projects such as carbon and capture and storage which would provide such opportunities for the future of Grangemouth.
“So what the Government will do is we will consider these judgments. We will work with the oil and gas sector to manage the transition that lies ahead, because I want to make sure we have a strong and prosperous future for those involved in oil and gas in Scotland and a strong and prosperous future for the Scottish economy.”
Development work on Jackdaw and Rosebank is ongoing despite the court ruling as the firms wait to hear if they will be given consent.
Elsewhere at FMQs, Scottish Labour pushed Swinney to end the SNP’s long-standing opposition to nuclear power and allow new plants to be built in Scotland.
The First Minister rejected the calls, saying the SNP Government was focused on backing renewables.
