The fight to stop the development of Cambo oil field off the coast of Shetland has had yet another boost today as major stakeholder Siccar Point Energy, who have a 70% stake, have ordered a ‘pause’ on the project. This decision comes just a week after Shell pulled out of the project, leaving Siccar Point Energy unable to progress on the ‘originally planned timescale’.
Whilst the nature of this pause is unclear, Siccar Point Energy chief executive officer Jonathan Roger has said:
“We continue to believe Cambo is a robust project that can play an important part of the UK’s energy security providing homegrown energy supply and reducing carbon intensive imports, whilst supporting a just transition.”
CEO of the Alliance, Frances Guy, emphasises the responsibility that the oil industry has to end global exploitation, saying:
“It is good news that Shell has finally understood that oil exploration and exploitation should be assigned to history. We hope that they will now stop exploring and wind down their exploitation in the rest of the world too, and compensate communities in Nigeria and elsewhere.”
Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Head of Campaigns Mary Church commented:
“This is another nail in the coffin for the Cambo oil field. Climate science is very clear that fossil fuels are driving the crisis and new projects anywhere in the world are a threat to people everywhere.
“The UK Government must officially reject the Cambo proposal once and for all and end licensing for all new oil and gas projects if it wants to play its part in limiting dangerous climate warming.”
This pause ordered in the development on Cambo oil field is a direct response to the pressure being applied by climate activists across the United Kingdom, and is evidence of the power of active citizenship – by maintaining the momentum created by COP26, the general public is able to notice inconsistencies and hold governements and organisations to account.