Sturgeon comes out against Cambo oil project as Scotland mulls joining alliance to end oil & gas use

The first half of November 2021 was filled with quite a few, turbulent developments for Scotland and its oil and gas sector as the country hosted the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, resulting in the Glasgow Climate Pact and an alliance aiming to set an end date for oil and gas production, which Scotland is considering joining much to the dismay of the industry.

However, another development that will impact the future of oil and gas in Scotland has now also come to light as Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, has expressed for the first time her belief that the widely-discussed Cambo oil project off Shetland should not get the green light thereby moving away from its previous calls for the project to be reassessed and now taking a firm stand against it.

After two weeks of intense discussions, the COP26 closed last weekend with the Glasgow Climate Pact as its final outcome as well as an agreement to speed up action on climate change this decade. While some were disappointed with the outcome of the summit, claiming that many of the goals were not achieved, Sturgeon believes it is a basis for further action, but the emphasis is on urgent implementation of agreed commitments.

Commenting on the outcome of COP26 while speaking in Holyrood on 16 November 2021, Sturgeon said: “The stakes could not be higher so I absolutely understand why many are angry and frustrated that more progress was not made at Glasgow. However, the Glasgow Climate pact does provide a basis for further action. The key test will be whether it is implemented fully and with the required urgency.”

Labour MSP, Monica Lennon, argued that if we are serious about averting climate catastrophe and accelerating towards a just transition for a green economy, then the Cambo project cannot go ahead so she asked the minister whether she will oppose Cambo in the strongest possible terms and provide the political leadership that has been lacking.

Sturgeon underlined her position on oil and gas, stating that she does not think we can go on extracting new oil and gas forever, and added: “That’s why we’ve moved away from the policy of maximum economic recovery and I don’t think we can go and continue to give the go-ahead to new oil fields, so I don’t think that Cambo should get the green light.”

She added: “I am not the one taking that decision so I’ve set out a proposal for a climate assessment and I think the presumption would be that Cambo couldn’t and shouldn’t pass any rigorous climate assessment.”

The First Minister’s comments on the Cambo oil project were welcomed by environmentalists. Reacting to the statement, Friends of the Earth Scotland Head of Campaigns, Mary Church, said: “This is an important progression of the Scottish Government’s position, which must now translate into clear opposition to all new fossil fuel projects.

“When you’re in a hole, you have to stop digging. To meet the 1.5C goal, we need to keep all fossil fuels safe in the ground. It’s time to turn rhetoric on just transition into action that ensures that people and communities working in oil and gas are at the heart of planning a fair and fast phase-out, whilst scaling up renewable energy to help create decent green jobs.”

As the push to move away from the use of fossil fuels is gaining support globally, the scrutiny over new oil and gas projects is rising, especially in the UK where the Cambo oil project, led by Siccar Point in partnership with Shell, is located. The field is situated about 125km northwest of the Shetland Islands in a water depth of 1100m.

The project has already faced criticism from environmentalist groups but this was the first time for Sturgeon to comment openly against its development. The project could deliver up to 170 million barrels of oil equivalent during its 25-year operational life and would also provide a further 53.5 billion cubic feet of gas. But, in order to be developed, it needs to be approved by the UK’s oil and gas regulator, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA).

The project was delayed last year due to the challenging market environment amid the Covid-19 pandemic. However, if approved by the authorities, drilling operations could start as early as 2022 with the first production then expected in 2025.

During her speech, the minister also mentioned that Scotland is in discussions about joining the new Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA), which was formed in the last week of COP26 and led by Costa Rica and Denmark. The alliance is determined to set an end date for their oil and gas exploration and extraction and curtail new licensing or undertake other significant measures that contribute to the joint goal of aligning oil and gas production with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Scotland previously faced criticism from environmentalists for not joining the alliance immediately but also from the oil and gas sector, which was alarmed to hear the discussions about Scotland joining BOGA.

Expressing the alarm over these discussions, Scottish Conservative MSP, Liam Kerr, asked Sturgeon to reassure oil and gas workers that the discussions about joining BOGA were finished and guarantee that her government would ensure every possible job would transition and the industry’s own drive to decarbonise would be harnessed before her government takes any decisions which could throw nearly 100,000 of oil and gas jobs off of cliff edge.

Furthermore, when asked outright by the Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell whether Scotland will join the alliance, which he dubbed a seminal moment in Glasgow, Sturgeon confirmed the country is assessing its membership in the alliance and the only question is in what capacity.

Namely, the alliance has three categories of membership and the current setup includes Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Greenland, Ireland, Quebec, Sweden and Wales as core members, while California, New Zealand, and Portugal joined as associate members and Italy joined as a “friend” of BOGA.

Just like Italy, if Scotland decides to join the alliance, initially, it will be as a “friend”, which would allow it to share its experience, Sturgeon explained.

Minister said: “I absolutely agree with the fact that we need to move beyond oil and gas as quickly as we can, but we need to do that justly and I think Mark Ruskell agrees with that as well.”