New North Sea oil drilling faces delay after gear accidentally dropped in sea
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- Rosebank oil production has slipped from an expected end-of-2025 start to sometime in 2027 after two pieces of drilling equipment, including a safety valve, fell 1,100 metres onto the seabed on 18 April
- Odfjell Drilling took the platform, hired by Adura from the Norwegian firm, to a Bergen shipyard for repairs and said in internal documents the rig could be out of action for up to four months, leaving some oil wells significantly behind schedule
- Rosebank, located about 80 miles north-west of Shetland, is projected to produce 300m barrels of oil over its 25-year lifespan, according to industry estimates
- Adura told the BBC the Jackdaw gas field, about 150 miles east of Aberdeen, could produce gas as early as October — but licences for both Rosebank and Jackdaw were paused after a court challenge by environmental groups
- Energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh is expected to decide on the fields' future after emissions consultations conclude in August
- Greenpeace co-executive director Areeba Hamid said approval would make "zero difference" to energy bills while prolonging a "polluting industry that's fuelling heatwaves"
- Jackdaw would create only 27 direct full-time jobs, according to Adura's own publicly filed environmental impact assessment
Why it matters: The four-month rig delay means Rosebank won't help UK energy supply this winter, while Adura's own assessment — just 27 direct full-time jobs at Jackdaw — undercuts the industry argument that new North Sea drilling meaningfully delivers on jobs or bills.
