– Rosebank is owned by Equinor, which in turn is part-owned by the Norwegian state. This is a transfer of money and welfare from Great Britain to Norway. Alexander Armitage stands on one of Shetland’s many beautiful white sandy beaches and looks out to sea. Far out there, Equinor will build a new oil and gas platform, if the British government gives the project the green light. Alex Armitage from the Green Party in Scotland will stop Equinor’s development of the Rosebank oil field. He sits on the island council in Shetland. Photo: Håvard Blekastad Almås / news That decision is expected during the summer. Then the Norwegian company is ready to start immediately, Equinor informs news. But local politician Armitage in the Scottish Greens believes that climate change means that the best use of the oil is to leave it there. – No more Equinor! The Shetland Islands are Scotland’s and Great Britain’s most northerly point. Here, far out to sea, puffins, auks and cormorants nest in the cliffs that plunge straight into the sea. A seal basks on a rock in the sea gap. We are closer to Bergen than Edinburgh. Place names in the Shetland Islands clearly bear the stamp of the 600-year period under Norwegian rule. Photo: Håvard Blekastad Almås / news But in the capital with the Norwegian-sounding name Lerwick, Leirvik, a small group of Shetlanders are making a lot of noise. Some beat large drums, others hold placards calling for a halt to the project. Tactfully they shout: – No more Equinor. No more Equinor! Leave the oil on. Leave the oil alone! Alex Armitage hopes to get help to stop the project from the country that ruled the archipelago for 600 years; from Equinor’s home country of Norway. – We want the Norwegian people to stop Equinor from developing the Rosebank field, he says. He has made the trip from the beautiful beach to the city to lead the demonstration. There have been several such in many British cities recently. Armitage sits on the island council in Shetland. Britain’s largest undeveloped oil field Rosebank is referred to as Britain’s largest undeveloped oil and gas field. The calculated size is 300 million barrels, which according to Equinor corresponds to approximately one tenth of the Norwegian Johan Sverdrup field. The archipelago has a rich bird life. Photo: Håvard Blekastad Almås / news Shetland can thank oil and gas for its prosperity. In addition to the oil providing jobs, Shetland has its own oil fund, a bit like Norway’s. It has ensured that the islanders are better off than Britons in many other places. Armitage himself says that he is alone in expressing opposition to new oil fields in the island council of Shetland. – I know there are big changes I am proposing. Change is always difficult, says Armitage. There is much in Shetland that bears witness to the long-standing Norwegian connection. Photo: Håvard Blekastad Almås / news The colleague in the municipal council, Allison Duncan, represents the majority. He stays on the fringes of the demonstration, because he welcomes Equinor. – I am all for Rosebank and other oil fields opening. – Why? – Because otherwise the economy in Shetland and in Great Britain will be hit hard. I’m a supporter of renewable energy, but don’t do something so stupid as to stop everything at once. Do it in a sensible way. We will need oil for many decades to come. Energy security vs. climate change For Duncan, as for the British government, it is important to contribute to energy security going forward. Far out in the sea west of Shetland, the planned Rosebank oil and gas field will be located, if it receives the British government’s approval. Photo: Håvard Blekastad Almås / news The war in Ukraine has shown how vulnerable it can be to be dependent on others. Rising energy prices have hit millions of Britons very hard. The British are dependent on importing oil and gas. Equinor’s Norwegian fields currently supply around 30 percent of the gas used in Great Britain, the company informs news. They believe that Rosebank can counteract the decline in British own production, and that the oil and gas produced there will have a significantly lower carbon footprint than the average on the British continental shelf. The British organization Uplift has also got involved. They have notified the UK authorities that they will go to court if they approve Equionor’s application. Uplift claims that any approval of Rosebank field would be unlawful. – We have several times expressed concern about the catastrophic environmental damage from Rosebank, but the authorities stick their heads in the sand, says Tessa Khan, climate lawyer and head of Uplift. Equinor also refutes the claim that values are transferred from the UK to Norway. – The socio-economic impact assessment showed that the project will add around NOK 350 billion to the UK in the form of taxes and investments in the British economy, writes Equinor in a comment. But the campaigners in Lerwick believe that climate change is forcing a halt to new oil extraction, and that the time to stop is now. Not later. It is therefore a battle between energy security and climate change. A choice about when the oil adventure will end. For Shetland and for Norway.
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Opposition to the British Equinor project – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
