Majority of Scots in favour of Rosebank oil field drilling, poll suggests

A majority of Scots back the decision to go ahead with drilling in the Rosebank oil field, a poll suggests.

Environmental campaigners including Greta Thunberg are strongly opposed to the oil field, which is located to the west of Shetland and was granted consent in September.

Scotland’s First Minister, Humza Yousaf, has also said developing the field, which contains up to 350 million barrels of oil, is the “wrong decision”.

However, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak supports the move, saying the UK should “take every last drop” from the North Sea as domestic supplies are better for energy security.

A Savanta poll for The Scotsman newspaper found 51% supported the decision to go ahead with the oil field, with 22% opposed and 27% saying they did not know or had no opinion.

Support was strongest among those aged 65 and over but all age groups were in favour.

Savanta polled 1,002 adults in Scotland online between October 6-11.

Rosebank could produce 69,000 barrels of oil per day, about 8% of the UK’s projected daily output between 2026 and 2030, and could also produce 44 million cubic feet of gas every day, according to its owners, Ithaca Energy and Equinor.

It is thought to be one of the largest untapped oil fields in UK waters.

© Supplied by Uplift

The Prime Minister has rejected arguments that Rosebank would set back the UK’s net zero ambitions.

Last month, he said: “I think the UK should focus on the North Sea because we’re going to take every last drop. I mean, we need oil and gas for decades to come.

“So yes, I would much rather have that from home because it’s better for our energy security.”

Following the decision on Rosebank in September, Mr Yousaf said: “Scotland’s future, the north east’s future, is as the net-zero capital not just of Europe but of, I hope, the world.

“And, of course, new oil and gas licences being given the go-ahead will slow the pace of that transition down.”

The Scottish Conservatives said the poll showed the SNP and Greens were out of step with public opinion.

Energy spokesman Douglas Lumsden said: “Most Scots think that giving the go-ahead to the Rosebank oil field will help to safeguard tens of thousands of jobs – and that it is a better option than importing foreign fuel, at a much greater environmental and economic cost.

“They also disapprove of SNP-Green plans to load huge additional costs on households during a cost-of-living crisis, and back Rishi Sunak’s pragmatic and sensible approach.”