Govt drops oil field defence 'to save money'

THE Government has said it will not challenge judicial reviews brought against developments for the Rosebank and Jackdaw offshore oil and gas fields in the North Sea, in order to ‘save the taxpayer money.’

- 

The move has been welcomed by climate action groups, despite the licences for drilling at the sites not being withdrawn.

Greenpeace and Uplift jointly brought judicial reviews to stop the development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields. If the judicial review backs the environmental groups, operators would need to resubmit environmental assessments, adding costs to the projects.