That makes it almost triple the size of the controversial nearby Cambo oil field, which drew widespread protests and opposition in 2021 and was eventually paused.
Fears about the environmental damage that could be caused by developing the Rosebank field, and about its impact on the UK's ability to meet net-zero greenhouse gas emissions commitments, have led to widespread opposition to the project.
In March 2023, the former leader of the opposition and shadow energy secretary Ed Miliband publicly opposed the field and said that the government were ignoring the science by refusing to do the same.
[14] In April, Chris Skidmore, Conservative MP and chair of the government's net-zero review 'Mission Zero', wrote an op-ed in The Guardian against the development of the Rosebank field.
Deben, also a Conservative Party member of the House of Lords, claimed that Rosebank discredits previous UK government statements at international climate conventions, where it has urged developing nations to cut emissions.
[20] In June, groups and activists across the UK staged demonstrations in cities and on coastlines, including in the Shetland islands, located close to Rosebank, and in London, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Grimsby, and Cornwall.
[24] In November 2024, Greenpeace and Uplift filed a legal challenge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh against the approval of the Rosebank oil field.
The organizations argued that the UK Government and the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) had acted unlawfully in granting consent for the projects.
Their case asserted that the environmental impact assessments conducted for the developments failed to consider downstream emissions resulting from the combustion of the extracted fossil fuels.
[25] In January 2025, a court has ruled that the approval granted for two new Scottish oil and gas fields was unlawful, requiring their operators to seek fresh authorization from the UK government before production can commence.
In his judgment, the judge determined that a more comprehensive environmental assessment was necessary, specifically considering the climate impact of burning any fossil fuels extracted from the fields.