Cambo oilfield development to be paused say developers Siccar Point Energy

Work on the controversial Cambo oilfield is being paused, its developers have said.

The move could see the development fall through.

It follows a decision last week by Shell to pull out of the proposed development off Shetland.

Siccar Point Energy’s chief executive Jonathan Roger said his company will now “evaluate next steps”.

He said: “Following Shell’s announcement last week, we are in a position where the Cambo project cannot progress on the originally planned timescale.

“We are pausing the development while we evaluate next steps.

“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.”

Environmental groups have long opposed the proposed field.

They warned it would jeopardise hundreds of species in the ocean and have threatened the UK Government with legal action.

Last week Shell, which had a 30% stake in the development, said it had “concluded the economic case for investment in this project is not strong enough at this time, as well as having the potential for delays”.

In November, Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the project should not go ahead.

It followed months of pressure from opposition and campaigners for the Scottish Government to make its position on Cambo clear.

Oil and Gas UK previously said blocking long-planned projects like Cambo would risk leaving the UK at the mercy of global shortages.

cottish Conservatives said Siccar Point Energy’s decision is “extremely concerning” for the oil and gas industry.

The party’s shadow secretary for net-zero Liam Kerr said: “The hostile SNP-Green stance on projects like Cambo is making it less attractive for energy companies to invest in Scottish oil and gas.

“It’s clear the shameful, ignorant, anti-business views of this coalition are now not only jeopardising our ability to meet net-zero targets but also abandoning thousands of jobs in the sector.

“Without investment in these projects, we risk becoming even more dependent on foreign imports rather than making use of Scotland’s domestic reserves of oil and gas.

“We warned bringing the extremist Greens into Government would damage Scotland’s economy and the effects of this are now being seen.”

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