What changed
The UK government is being warned that approving Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in Britain, could conflict with its new sanctions on companies linked to illegal Israeli settlements. The field lies off Shetland; Ithaca Energy holds a 20% stake, and its parent, Delek Group, was included in a UN database that links firms to settlement-related services.
The decision now sits with Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh after campaigners successfully challenged the field’s 2023 approval in court. Uplift, Stop Rosebank, Greenpeace and Green Party leader Zack Polanski are asking ministers whether Delek’s connection brings Rosebank within the sanctions.
Why it matters
This turns Rosebank from a familiar argument about oil, climate and energy security into a test of whether the government’s sanctions have a clear boundary.
The UK announced measures last month targeting services, infrastructure and imports connected to West Bank settlements. Campaigners want Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband to explain whether money connected to Rosebank could reach a company covered by those measures.
Delek says it was wrongly listed and no longer has any involvement in Israeli settlements. Ithaca says it is a major North Sea investor, employer and taxpayer, and that Rosebank supports UK energy security.
My read is that the key issue is not yet whether Rosebank will proceed. It is whether ministers can apply the same policy consistently when a disputed overseas corporate link sits inside a strategically important domestic energy project. The answer could also signal how the government will approach the Jackdaw gas field east of Aberdeen.
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