New North Sea oil drilling faces delay after gear accidentally dropped in sea | Oil and gas companies
Production at Britain’s largest undeveloped oil and gas field could be delayed for months after equipment from a drilling rig was accidentally dropped into the North Sea, the Guardian has revealed.
Andy Burnham’s new government is under pressure from the fossil fuel industry to allow oil to be extracted from the Rosebank field, despite opposition from climate campaigners and some Labor MPs.
Rosebank, located about 80 miles northwest of Shetland, was believed to be ready to produce oil before the end of the year, pending ministerial approval.
Adura, the company responsible for Rosebank, says it estimates this will happen in 2027. According to industry estimates, the field is projected to produce 300 million barrels of oil over its 25-year life.
While some MPs believe increased domestic oil and gas production will help tackle the cost of living, which is a focus for the new prime minister, by improving energy security amid global instability, green campaigners believe the impact on the UK economy of exploiting these fields will be minimal.
But delays at Rosebank mean production at the site is unlikely to impact the UK’s energy supply during the winter months. Rosebank and another site, Jackdaw, were licensed by the Conservatives but operations were halted after environmental groups appealed in court.
New energy minister Miatta Fahnbulleh is expected to make a decision on the future of the fields after consultations on emissions conclude in August.
Earlier this week Adura told the BBC its Jackdaw plant, about 250 kilometers east of Aberdeen, could produce gas as early as October.
However, preparations for oil production at Rosebank were disrupted by the drilling rig accident that occurred on 18 April. No workers were injured, but two central pieces of drilling equipment, including a safety valve, fell 1,100 meters below the seafloor.
The platform, which Adura rented from the Norwegian company Odfjell Drilling, was taken to a shipyard in Bergen for repairs. It has now returned to Rosebank but is not yet operational.
Odfjell Drilling said in internal documents that the rig could be out of action for up to four months. The Guardian understands this means some oil rigs will be completed significantly behind schedule.
Burnham faces calls from unions and opposition parties to increase North Sea production. Some Labor MPs say the Aberdeen-based oil and gas industry could face collapse without new investment.
Cabinet minister Sally Jameson also argued that more domestic oil and gas production would give the UK greater control over the cost of energy. Others fear it will have no real impact on bills and cause untold damage to the climate.
Mike Reader, who is part of the Working Environment Campaign, said there was no evidence new drilling would save jobs in the long term.
The Guardian has revealed that only 27 direct full-time jobs will be created at Jackdaw, one of the largest remaining gas fields in the North Sea. environmental impact assessment Released to the public by Adura.
The new foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, had previously described Rosebank’s proposals as “climate vandalism” while in Labor opposition. But talks are believed to have been held in recent weeks about how to allow new drilling without violating Labor’s 2024 manifesto commitments, in which it promised not to grant new licences, but to honor existing licences.
Some environmental groups are understood to be considering whether they might have grounds to take legal action over the government’s decision to allow new drilling.
Angeliki Papantoniou, a lecturer in environmental law at the University of Hull, said a new challenge would be “in the long run” but would be likely to succeed if it was based on “significant environmental issues” such as degradation of ecosystems, pollution and possible health impacts.
“It can be argued that these developments cannot reasonably be ignored when making a decision that could have high environmental impacts,” he said.
“Theoretically it might be difficult [Fahnbulleh] to claim that [the government] “We took all necessary precautions without making a detailed risk assessment regarding the effects of drilling on the marine environment, climate and human health.”
Areeba Hamid, co-executive director of Greenpeace, which objected to the original decision to grant the licence, said approving the sites would make “zero difference” to energy bills and create few jobs.
“Despite these meager benefits, we will be extending the life of a polluting industry that fuels heat waves while sending a signal of disaster to our international allies,” he said.
Odfjell Drilling declined to comment. Adura did not respond to a request for comment.
