Key facts
- UK government weighing approval for Rosebank oilfield, its largest untapped reserve.
- Rosebank estimated to hold nearly 500 million barrels of oil equivalent.
- Ithaca Energy threatens to stop investing in Britain if Rosebank is rejected.
- Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is inclined to reject the project.
- Chancellor John Healey and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds support approval.
- Rosebank oilfield's emissions estimated at roughly seven times that of Jackdaw gasfield.
Britain is deliberating the fate of the Rosebank oilfield, its largest undeveloped oil reserve, amidst a global oil price surge and increasing reliance on imports. The £8.7 billion Rosebank project, west of Shetland, is estimated to produce around 69,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak. Stakeholder Ithaca Energy has warned that a rejection could lead to a cessation of its investments in the UK.