It was announced this morning that regulators had approved development of the UK's largest untapped oil field. Here's a quick recap:

• It's estimated that the North Sea oil field, located 80 miles (130km) west of Shetland, could produce 300 million barrels of oil. But a group of MPs from all major parties previously raised concerns it could produce 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide

• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed the news, insisting the development was "the right long-term decision for the UK's energy security"
• But there are questions about how much of the energy will be used domestically. A spokesman for Equinor, one of the main stakeholders, was unable to say whether the oil produced at Rosebank would be consumed in the UK
• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that Labour would not revoke the licence for Rosebank if it wins the next election
• Criticism from opposition MPs and environmental groups has been swift. Oceana UK, a non-profit ocean conservation group, has blasted the "folly" of the Rosebank decision
• Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf says he's "disappointed" and concerned that "the majority of what is extracted from Rosebank will go overseas"

The controversial decision to give the Rosebank offshore development the go-ahead has already generated a protest, outside the UK government offices in Edinburgh.

Here's a couple of pictures of the protestors, which include a number of Scottish Green MSPs and the co-leader of the party Patrick Harvie.

Justin Rowlatt
BBC Climate editor

Most of the Rosebank reserve is oil not gas.

Critics of the project say the oil is not of a type used in UK refineries, so 80% of it will be exported for processing abroad.

Official statistics confirm, external that currently around 80% of UK oil production is exported abroad.

Equinor prepared a briefing note to MPs towards the end of last year which has been obtained by Uplift, a campaigning group that opposes Rosebank.

The note says all the gas will be delivered to the UK. Equinor says the oil “will be sold on the open market, and the most likely destination for that oil is the continent of Europe".

This morning Ithaca, which owns 20% of the Rosebank reserve, said the claim that most of the oil would be exported was “simply incorrect”.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 earlier, Ithaca’s executive chairman Gilad Myerson said “we will be using the majority of that oil in the UK.”

“Ultimately this is a UK field that will be producing both oil and gas for the UK,” he claimed.

News that the Rosebank oil field development has been approved has been warmly welcomed by the Scottish Conservatives.

Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden has hailed it as "fantastic news for the UK’s energy security and for jobs in Scotland’s oil and gas sector".

He continues: “As we aim to achieve net zero in the coming years, it is only right that we should focus on relying on domestic sources of production, rather than importing oil and gas from volatile sources and from dictators like Vladimir Putin."

The decision of the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) to allow the Rosebank project to go ahead has elicited strong reactions.

Here's what some backers of the project have said so far:

• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has insisted the oil field development is "the right long-term decision for the UK's energy security"
• Russell Borthwick, the chief executive of the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce called it a "welcome shot in the arm for the UK energy sector"
• Tory MSP Douglas Lumsden said the decision was "fantastic news" both for the UK's energy security and jobs

And here's what some opponents:

• Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf says he's "disappointed" and concerned that "the majority of what is extracted from Rosebank will go overseas"
• Green MP Caroline Lucas called the move "morally obscene"
• Hugo Tagholm, director of Oceana UK, a non-profit ocean conservation group, said the "folly" of the Rosebank decision was "staggering"

It's worth taking a wider look at what's been said about new oil and gas projects and climate change.

Back in 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said there should be no new fossil fuel supply projects if the world was to reach net zero by 2050, and to have a chance of limiting global temperature rises to 1.5C.

Scientists say this is crucial to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

A report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in March showed that projected emissions of CO2 from existing fossil fuel infrastructure would bust the remaining carbon budget - meaning the amount of CO2 that can still be emitted in order to stay under this key threshold.

Yesterday the IEA, said the path to limiting warming to 1.5C had "narrowed", adding that wealthy countries must speed up their efforts and become carbon-neutral five years earlier - by 2045.

But proponents of new developments argue that we will still need fossil fuels in the transition, and these should be produced in ways with lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Where does the UK get its oil?published at 12:12 British Summer Time 27 September 2023

12:12 BST 27 September 2023

The Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho has said that North Sea oil and gas production “will enable us to have greater energy independence, making us more secure against tyrants like (Russian President Vladimir) Putin”.

We approached the department to ask how that would work and were pointed towards the government’s release, external, which says: “The choice is between it [energy] coming from hostile states rather than from the supplies we have here at home”.

But oil and gas from the North Sea is not necessarily used in the UK - it is sold on global markets.

In 2021, the UK imported, external £17.6bn of crude oil, half of which came from Norway.

It exported £17.9bn of crude oil, with the biggest customers being the Netherlands and China.

Oil tends to be sent around the world to be refined - the UK does not have the capacity to refine all its own oil-based products.

You can read more about the UK's energy mix here.

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed that Labour will not revoke the licence for the Rosebank oil field if it wins the next election.

But he added that "no new licences" would be granted if his party gained power.

He said that allowing the North Sea exploration to go ahead would provide "stability" to the economy.

Speaking to the BBC's Political Thinking with Nick Robinson podcast, the Labour leader said: "I absolutely think we've got to do the transition to renewables and that's why the second of the missions that I set out is for clean power by 2030 - which is really difficult. The reason for that is cheaper bills and security - so Putin can't put his boot on our throat".

Pressed on whether Ed Miliband, the shadow energy secretary, had been wrong to criticise the project in the past for climate reasons, Sir Keir said "the chopping and changing, the lack of strategic thinking" had killed growth.

"Therefore as a matter of principle we will accept the baseline that we inherit from the government if we win that election". He said Labour's stance was "in order to ensure we have the stability that we desperately need in our economy."

Earlier, there was a news briefing from Equinor - one of the main stakeholders in the Rosebank development that was approved today.

The Norwegian oil company insisted it was not tone deaf to the ongoing debate around the planned project.

Arne Gurtner, the company's senior vice president for exploration and production, said the firm was working hard to decarbonise and it had a net-zero target.

But he admitted the new field wouldn't be electrified when it began production in 2026/27. Electrification is a key industry pledge for reducing its emissions.

And Gurtner could not say whether the oil produced at Rosebank would be consumed in the UK.

Image source, Getty Images

Today's news represents a "welcome shot in arm for the UK energy sector", says Russell Borthwick, chief executive of Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce.

He says it will give confidence to investors, operators and the wider supply chain - as these various groups try to provide power during the UK's transition towards net zero (more on that here).

Borthwick continues: "Rosebank will make an important contribution to UK and European energy security, create several hundred new jobs here in Scotland and result in over £6bn being spent within the UK supply chain which is anchored in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire."

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor

Opponents argue the oil and gas produced from Rosebank will be sold at world market prices, so the project will not cut prices for UK consumers.

“It won’t make the slightest difference to people’s energy bills”, the Green Party MP Caroline Lucas claimed on BBC Radio 4's Today programme this morning.

The Norwegian state oil company Equinor - which is the majority owner of Rosebank - confirmed that during a briefing for journalists this morning.

“If the UK needs Rosebank oil, it will go to the UK through open market mechanisms”, said Arne Gurtner, Equinor's senior vice president for the UK.

Image source, Reuters

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has stepped in to defend his government's endorsement of the Rosebank development.

He insists the UK will still need oil and gas in its transition to renewables, and the oil field development 80 miles west of Shetland is "the right long-term decision for the UK's energy security".

"You don't reach net zero by wishing it," Sunak says in a post on X, external, quoting the independent Climate Change Committee.

As you've seen in our coverage so far, opponents of the Rosebank project have argued that the project will harm the UK's ability to achieve net zero and curb climate change.

Net zero means no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. CO2 is released when oil, gas and coal are burned in homes, factories and to power transport. These gases trap the sun's heat in the atmosphere (like a greenhouse), causing Earth's temperature to rise.

Under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, 197 countries agreed to try to limit global temperature rises to 1.5C by the year 2100. Experts said this could only be achieved if emissions fell by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, and reached "net zero" around 2050.

Under legislation passed in 2019, the UK is committed by law to reach net zero by 2050., external

• Read more about net zero here

Image source, ..

If you're just joining us, welcome. Earlier this morning, it was announced that the UK's biggest untapped oil field, Rosebank, has been approved for development by regulators.

• The North Sea oil field, located 80 miles (130km) west of Shetland, is estimated to contain 500 million barrels of oil. But a group of MPs from all major parties previously raised concerns it could produce 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide
• Regulators say net zero considerations had been taken into account (a reference to the UK's efforts to cut fossil fuel emissions to slow climate change). The energy security secretary added that oil and gas were still needed as part of the UK's energy mix
• Some 1,600 jobs will be created in the project and the Treasury will receive "significant" tax revenue, an investor told the BBC
• But Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf says he's "disappointed", and there has also been strong criticism from opposition parties - with Green MP Caroline Lucas saying the move was "morally obscene"
• But Labour would not revoke the Rosebank licence if it won the next general election, a senior party source told our political correspondent

Justin Rowlatt
Climate editor

The government’s independent advisers on climate change, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), has expressed concern about the government’s plans to develop the UK’s remaining offshore oil and gas reserves.

Last year, it wrote to the then-chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, external, saying more domestic oil and gas extraction would have "at most, a marginal effect on prices".

It said the best way to reduce exposure to volatile energy markets would be to “cut fossil fuel consumption, improving energy efficiency, [and] shifting to a renewables-based power system”.

The former chair of the CCC, Lord Deben, was much more outspoken in an interview with the BBC in June this year.

"How can we ask countries in Africa not to develop oil?" he said. "How can we ask other nations not to expand the fossil fuel production if we start doing it ourselves?"

Image source, PA Media

Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf is at odds with the UK government, posting on social media: "I'm disappointed Rosebank has been given the go-ahead.”

In a string of posts on X, external, he goes on to say that he's concerned that "the majority of what is extracted from Rosebank will go overseas, not remain in Scotland or the UK".

Yousaf adds: "We recognise the significant contribution the oil and gas sector makes to Scotland. However, our future is not in unlimited oil and gas extraction. It is in accelerating our just transition to renewables.

"New oil and gas fields being approved risk the pace of that transition."

"That isn't climate leadership. It is climate denial," he adds. "Scotland will remain on the right side of history and demonstrate climate leadership."

As a reminder, the Rosebank decision - which was welcomed by the UK government - was made by the regulator, the North Sea Transition Authority.

The NSTA is owned by the UK's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, but "has day-to-day operational independence from the department"., external

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"It's great news that the regulator has given Rosebank the green light," says Scottish Secretary Alister Jack.

"The North Sea has a huge role to play in ensuring the UK's energy security while we transition to net zero.

"It's really important that we maximise our domestic oil and gas reserves, which mean lower emissions than imports, while reducing any reliance on hostile states."

Jack goes on to say that Rosebank will play a big role in this - growing the economy and providing "skilled jobs in Scotland for generations to come".

Image source, PA Media

Scotland's former first minister says she "agrees with" Green MP Caroline Lucas, who called the decision the "greatest act of environmental vandalism in my lifetime".

Nicola Sturgeon, who is still an SNP MSP, has posted to say, external that "consuming scarce resources that could be going to renewables... risks slowing the green transition and the jobs that come from it."

She said this was not in the interests of those who work in oil and gas, adding that they needed the transition to happen at pace.

Co-leader of the Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie, has warned there will be "no benefit to energy price or security" in the Rosebank development.

Writing on X, external, he adds: "After abandoning wider climate policy last week, once again the UK government is wrecking our future."

He also said that there would be no "just transition" for North Sea workers, adding that the industry "would literally burn your future for profit".

The phrase "just transition" means a well-managed switchover to sustainable industries with workers' rights in mind.