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The boss of Norwegian state oil company Equinor has warned it may roll back investment in the UK if the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields are not approved.
Andres Opedal told the BBC that the company would “have a hard view about it” if a decision to reject new drilling was made.
Mr Opedal said: “The question will be: is the UK investable in the future? I hope it will not come to that.”
His warning comes as the UK government is set to decide whether or not to approve the extraction of oil and gas at the Rosebank and Jackdaw fields, despite a ban being pledged in Labour’s election manifesto.
The UK already relies on Norway for half of its gas needs and the Norwegian government has continued to issue new licenses for oil and gas exploration in its own North Sea waters.
Mr Opedal says he is confident that The Prime Minister’s “pragmatic approach to oil and gas” meant Rosebank and Jackdaw would get approved but he also said that the current lack of a decision was “an uncomfortable position to be in.”
The Equinor boss said that the UK could produce more of its own oil and gas.
He said: “It’s a political choice. The North Sea oil and gas industry started on the UK side. We learned from the UK and it’s actually the same geology on both sides of the border – several fields actually cross it.”
The oil and gas fields were initially given the green light by the previous Conservative government but were delayed by a legal ruling from a Scottish Court, after a backlash from environmental groups.
The public consultation was closed in August, meaning the final decision is in the hands of Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, who avoided making a clear statement on the matter during New York Climate Week.
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