UK issues environmental guidance on new North Sea oil and gas drilling

Britain on Thursday published long-awaited environmental guidance which is expected to impact the future development of two vast North Sea oil and gas fields by companies including Shell and Equinor.

The guidance sets out how greenhouse gas emissions that would come from the oil and gas being used, known as downstream emissions, or Scope 3, should be treated in future government decisions to approve extraction.

The document was ordered by the government following a landmark Supreme Court ruling last year which said planning authorities should have considered the impact of climate-warming emissions in approving an oil well near Gatwick Airport.

"This new guidance offers clarity on the way forward for the North Sea oil and gas industry, following last year’s Supreme Court ruling," energy department minister Michael Shanks said in a statement.

"It marks a step forward in ensuring the full implications of oil and gas extraction are considered for potential projects and that we ensure a managed, prosperous, and orderly transition to the North Sea’s clean energy future, in line with the science."

As part of efforts to meet its 2050 net zero climate target, Britain's Labour government last year pledged it would not issue any new oil and gas licenses.

The new guidance, however, will be applied to licenses that have already been awarded, such as Shell's Jackdaw and Equinor and Ithaca Energy's Rosebank projects.

The companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In January, a Scottish court said Britain's decisions to approve Shell's Jackdaw and Equinor's Rosebank projects in the North Sea were unlawful and must be retaken.

"The new rules mean that oil and gas companies will finally be forced to come clean over the enormous harm they are causing to the climate," Tessa Khan, executive director of environmental group Uplift, which had initiated the legal challenge along with Greenpeace.

The developers will now need to submit their applications, with a final decision to be taken by Britain's energy minister Ed Miliband in the autumn at the earliest.

Miliband has frequently spoken of the country's need to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels to drive down costs and improve energy security but has also said oil and gas will play a role in the country's economy for many years to come.