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The UK’s Labour Government has decided not to oppose a legal challenge by environmental organisations aimed at halting the development of the Rosebank oilfield in the North Sea. 

The organisations claim the project violates the UK’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions.  

However, the legal action will not see the see the licences for the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields, situated some 200 miles north-west of the Shetland Islands, automatically revoked. The licenses were granted by the previous Conservative Government.   

The government also said that not reviewing the Rosebank project, which has an approximate total production capacity of 121,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, will “save the taxpayer money”.  

Later this year, the government plans to seek input on enacting its manifesto-outlined policy of refraining from granting new oil and gas licences for exploring new fields. 

The UK Government stated that oil and gas extraction in the North Sea will continue to be a vital part of the country’s energy sector.   

UN secretary-general António Guterres has asked world leaders to remove oil and gas from the energy mix and stop further exploration, as greenhouse gases are “cooking our planet”. 

Guterres, speaking from Tonga during a meeting of Pacific Island leaders, said “rising seas are a crisis entirely of humanity’s making” and will soon “swell to an almost unimaginable scale, with no lifeboat to take us back to safety”. 

He added that big polluters have a responsibility to cut emissions, particularly in the Pacific, which Guterres described as “the most vulnerable area of the world”. 

According to multiple news sources, he said that small islands “don’t contribute to climate change, but everything that happens because of climate change is multiplied here”. 

He stated that without serious cuts to emissions, the Pacific Islands can expect at least 15cm of additional sea level rise by 2050. 

New Zealand is planning to pass legislation by the end of the year to lift the ban on offshore oil and gas exploration, according to several media reports.  

The development comes as the nation faces escalating energy shortages and soaring prices. The move is intended to attract investment back into the country’s energy sector, stabilise the national energy supply and ease regulations to aid the import of liquified natural gas.   

The proposed reversal would open up areas outside the onshore energy-rich Taranaki region for exploration. 

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon cited recent severe shortages that have led to some of the highest energy prices among developed nations, stating: “We are responding to a situation as I said New Zealand should never have seen in the first place. The 2018 ban on offshore exploration permits was initiated under former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. In 2023, New Zealand’s natural gas production declined by 12.5%. 

Bahri, or the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia, will spend $1bn to buy nine very large crude carriers (VLCCs) as the modernization of its fleet continues. 

The deal was signed on August 19, 2024 with shipping firm Capital Maritime and Trading Corporation, a vessel operator. It currently operates a fleet of 38 tankers, including 15 VLCCs. 

Delivery of the vessels is expected in multiple batches by the middle of next year. VLCCs can hold about two million barrels of crude oil. 

According to a joint statement, most of the nine VLCCs were built in South Korea, with an average age of six years and an average deadweight tonnage (DWT) of around 311,500. The vessels are equipped with high energy efficiency and low emission features to reduce environmental impact. 

Saudi Arabia’s sea-based oil exports dropped in June, with the world’s largest crude exporter contributing to a global reduction in seaborne oil movements of just over one million barrels a day. 

Global oil and gas giant Shell has revealed $6.29bn (almost £5bn) in adjusted earnings in Q2, above analysts’ forecasts for both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year results. 

The company made just over $5bn in the same period last year. Income attributable to shareholders was 12% higher, on a year-on-year basis. In Q1 of this year, it reported adjusted earnings of $7.7bn, well above the forecast of $6.46bn. 

In a statement on Thursday morning, the company’s chief executive Wael Sawan said the company has experienced a “solid” performance over recent months. He cited the company’s large LNG portfolio and consistent cost cutting as major factors behind the good results. 

Shell’s cash flow from operations reached $13.5bn, and it achieved $700m in structural savings this quarter, bringing the total savings to $1.7bn since 2022. Andrew Keen, managing director, Industrials, investment group Edison, said: “Shell, like BP earlier this week, is buying back its stock rather than accelerating its investment away from its traditional hydrocarbons.”