Key facts:
- The crisis in the Middle East reinforces why Rosebank must be rejected: fossil fuel dependence is too expensive, unsafe and unreliable.
- New fields like Rosebank would do nothing to protect UK households from the inevitable price shocks we will see from the war in the Middle East.
- More drilling in the North Sea would not make the UK more energy secure. If developed, Rosebank’s oil would be exported - like 80% of all UK oil.
- The UK’s reliance on fossil fuels is making us all poorer. Drilling Rosebank would not make our bills lower.
First and foremost, we want to acknowledge the escalating war in Iran as a humanitarian catastrophe, as well as the ongoing decades of struggle of the Iranian people against a violent regime committing human rights violations. As we witness the devastating loss of life and the further destabilisation of the region, we must also confront the systems that keep the UK tethered to these cycles of violence. For too long, our reliance on fossil fuels hasn't just fuelled the climate crisis, it has tied our economy to the geopolitical ripples of war.
The crisis in the Middle East is a startling wake up call that continuing to rely on fossil fuels leaves us vulnerable to the whims of volatile leaders. In fact, the Climate Change Committee reports that fossil fuel energy shocks have caused half of the UK’s recessions since the 1970s.
More drilling in the North Sea, like Rosebank, will do almost nothing to increase UK energy security or lower our bills. Despite what the oil and gas industry and right wing actors might claim, developing new oil and gas fields in the North Sea is not the solution when the fossil fuel markets are in crisis.
After decades of drilling, we are now extracting the North Sea’s last drops. Even if new projects like Rosebank are developed, the UK is set to be 94% reliant on gas imports by 2050. Most of the UK’s oil and gas is sold on the open international market to the highest bidder - it’s either exported or sold back to us at a profit for private energy companies. Rosebank's minimal gas reserves have the potential to reduce UK annual gas import dependency by just 1% on average.
As it stands, Rosebank remains unapproved. If the government is serious about delivering energy independence and lowering bills, it must reject the project for good.
In response to the unfolding crisis, the government said in a press release on 6th March 2026: “The biggest threat to energy security for families and businesses in the UK is continued reliance on unstable fossil fuel markets.”
Rosebank is also a terrible deal for working people in the UK. It further entrenches us in our absurd dependence on expensive gas which is why millions of households cannot afford to heat our homes. And thanks to an incredibly generous tax system, it could result in a net loss of hundreds of millions of pounds to the UK Treasury, while the field’s owners Equinor and Ithaca would earn billions in profit.
We have an abundance of renewable energy, especially wind, in the UK. This is how we build a resilient system that doesn’t hand control to greedy oil companies or volatile leaders, but keeps the lights on with reliable power made right here in the UK.