Controversial Rosebank oil field off Scots coast owned by Norwegian government

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The Rosebank oilfield off Shetland – touted as the key to Britain’s energy security – will be owned and operated by a Norwegian government firm.The main company involved in the 300-million barrel site has been named as Equinor while a second firm Ithaca Energy also has a smaller 20 per cent stake.Equinor – previously known as Statoil – was set up by Norway in the 1970s to exploit the North Sea and is now a major contributor to the country’s trillion-pound sovereign wealth fund.Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced Rosebank was getting the green light last week saying it would provide “energy security for the UK”.But First Minister Humza Yousaf has criticised the decision and accused Downing Street of “climate denial”.Oil from Rosebank will be sold and transported on tankers to refineries in Europe while gas will be exported through the West of Shetland Pipeline system and will ultimately end up in the UK grid.Equinor said: “We acknowledge there is public debate about our Rosebank oil and gas field in the UK and we respect the differing views.

Nevertheless, we believe there are sound and rational reasons for developing Rosebank.“This project is part of our contribution to energy security, creating jobs for Britain, and reducing CO2 emissions overall.”Rosebank will generate billions in tax revenues for the UK exchequer and profits for companies running the development.Scottish Lib Dems said: “Ordinary households struggling with their energy bills will be disappointed to learn that the UK Government are choosing to hand out multi-billion pound tax breaks to oil and gas giants.“Liberal Democrats were the first party to call for a meaningful windfall tax on the enormous profits of oil and gas giants.