IEA Energy Analyst Andy Mayer has written for CapX criticising ‘shrill hysteria’ over the decision to greenlight new oil drilling west of the Shetland Islands.

Andy wrote:

“The mundane reality is that Rosebank might, from 2025, produce enough oil to satisfy 5-8% of UK domestic demand. About 300m barrels over the lifetime of the field, or 3-4 days of global demand. It is estimated to provide a £6-8bn benefit to the UK economy, potentially creating 1,600-2000 jobs.

“The oil produced on average will generate 140m tonnes of CO2, or 0.3% of global emissions in 2019, or about 0.008% of the man-made emissions since 1850, which in turn have contributed to an estimated 1 degree celsius of global warming. In climate terms, Rosebank is a rounding error, and potentially may have no incremental impact at all. Final emissions depend on demand for fossil fuels, not supply.”

Read Andy’s full piece here.