Equinor Maintains North Sea Investment Threat Amid Jackdaw Approval

Energy firm Equinor has stated that its threat to withdraw investment from the North Sea remains unchanged, despite the recent approval of the Jackdaw gas field development.

Equinor holds stakes in both the Jackdaw gas field and the Rosebank oil field. The company's CEO had previously indicated that Equinor would need to "take a hard look" at the UK's investability if both projects were not greenlit.

"As investors we look for predictable framework conditions," Equinor boss Anders Opedal stated previously. "Trust, stable framework conditions, and long-term energy investments are deeply connected. Trust goes both ways: governments and industry must be able to rely on each other to deliver on their commitments."

The UK Government's energy secretary announced last week that the Jackdaw gas field had received production approval after a prolonged period of legal challenges from environmental groups. A decision on the Rosebank oil field, located off the coast of Shetland, is still pending. Rosebank's production is expected to be primarily for export, whereas Jackdaw's gas is intended for domestic use.

Adura, a joint venture between Norway's Equinor and Britain's Shell, owns both sites. Aberdeen-based Ithaca Energy also has a 20% stake in Rosebank.

"As an Adura shareholder, we are obviously pleased that the company got the consent to go ahead with Jackdaw and we expect that the same will follow for Rosebank," an Equinor spokesperson told the Scottish Mail on Sunday. When questioned about whether their stance on withdrawing future investment had shifted, the spokesman reiterated that "the CEO's messages remain the same."

In July, oil giant BP announced it was putting its entire North Sea oil and gas business up for sale, a move that could signal the end of the company's 60-year presence in the region.

Andrew Bowie MP, the shadow energy secretary for the Conservative party, urged the UK government to approve Rosebank to safeguard the North East of Scotland's interests. "Jackdaw alone will not change the fortunes of the North Sea oil and gas sector," Bowie stated. "Its approval must be the first step in opening the door for a bigger pipeline of projects to ramp up North Sea oil and gas."

He added, "Our world-leading oil and gas industry is in the grip of deep and growing uncertainty caused by the irrational hostility of both Labour and the SNP. International companies like Equinor constantly tell me that they are operating in a hostile political environment. It should therefore surprise no-one when they decide they have no option but to take their jobs and investment elsewhere. For the UK to be investable for companies like Equinor, Rosebank must be urgently approved, Labour must end its ban on new licences, and the Energy Profits Levy should be scrapped."

The Scottish Greens, who oppose both projects, passed a motion at their recent conference classifying the Jackdaw development as "environmental vandalism" and called on John Swinney to also oppose it. The UK Government is expected to make a decision on Rosebank in the near future.