Rosebank oil field warned it could breach West Bank sanctions
Prime minister faces warnings that approving the Rosebank oil field risks breaching UK sanctions due to its links with Israeli company Delek Group.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Campaigners warn approving Rosebank risks violating UK sanctions on West Bank settlements.
- Delek Group, linked to UN blacklist, controls Ithaca Energy holding a 20% stake in Rosebank.
- Greenpeace and Green Party leader urge government to clarify rules on oil revenues.
The prime minister has been warned that granting approval for the controversial Rosebank oil field, the UK's largest untapped offshore oil reservoir located off Shetland, risks contradicting the government's own recently announced sanctions targeting illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The controversy intensifies following Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband's announcement last month of strict measures against companies and individuals supplying infrastructure services for settlement expansion, alongside a ban on goods imported from illegal settlements—a move that has drawn fierce criticism from the Israeli government.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
The core of the dispute centres on Delek Group, an Israeli firm that was included in a UN database last year for allegedly providing utilities and services to support settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. Delek Group controls Ithaca Energy, a London-listed company holding a twenty percent stake in the Rosebank project.
The decision on Rosebank and the Jackdaw gas field serves as a critical political litmus test for the UK government, highlighting the complex tension between climate commitments, domestic energy security, and international diplomacy, particularly amidst pressure from the US to increase North Sea drilling.
Green Party leader Zack Polanski and campaigning groups such as Uplift and Greenpeace have formally written to government ministers, demanding absolute clarity on whether Delek's involvement violates the new sanctions regime and questioning how revenues from North Sea production are monitored.
Rosebank is a test of whether Labour's proposed sanctions regime is fit for purpose. Companies blacklisted by the UN for operating in the illegal settlements should not be financed by oil and gas revenues from the North Sea.
Zack PolanskiIn response to the mounting pressure, a spokesperson for Delek Group maintained that the firm was wrongly included in the UN database and stated they intend to formally challenge the listing with their legal advisers. Meanwhile, Ithaca Energy emphasized its strict adherence to corporate governance standards as a FTSE 100 listed entity.
Source: BBC Politics
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