Adura has welcomed the conclusion of the public consultation period on the Rosebank oil and gas field, a significant regulatory milestone before a formal decision on the £8.7 billion project.
The end of the consultation by the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) at midnight will follow the completion of a similar process for the Jackdaw gas field last week.
Together, Rosebank and Jackdaw represent a combined anticipated investment of £10.8 billion, more than three-quarters of it spent in the UK. They are also expected to deliver £1.4 billion in tax revenues before the end of this parliament, rising to £3.8 billion by the end of the next.
The projects will support 3,500 jobs at peak construction, 880 high-quality, well-paid jobs sustained throughout production in communities across the UK, and 125 apprenticeships.
Across its producing lifespan, Rosebank alone is expected to generate £24.3 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) for the UK economy across construction and operations, supply chain activity and in the wider economy.
Rosebank is projected to produce around 69,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak, equivalent to roughly 10 per cent of anticipated UK Continental Shelf oil output. With total UK oil production forecast to fall in coming years, Rosebank is large enough to slow that decline.
And together, Rosebank and Jackdaw have the potential to make up 10% of domestic natural gas production.
The Rosebank field is located approximately 130km north-west of Shetland and will be developed in two phases, with subsea wells tied back to a redeployed Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel.
Neil McCulloch, Chief Executive of Adura, said:
'Rosebank is the largest undeveloped oil field in the UK North Sea, and today’s consultation close is a major step before a decision on a project that can deliver real economic benefits for the country.
'We are grateful to everyone who has engaged constructively with the consultation process and made their views known, including businesses and organisations representing thousands of workers across the UK energy industry and its supply chain.
'Rosebank and Jackdaw are nationally significant projects. Together, they can provide more domestically produced energy, support high-quality jobs and apprenticeships, generate substantial economic activity and tax revenues, and give the UK’s world-class energy supply chain confidence for the future.
'We look forward to continuing to work constructively with the regulator as it completes its consideration of these two important projects.'
OPRED will now consider the consultation responses on Rosebank before a ministerial decision on whether to approve the project.
Source: Adura
