The Prime Minister has received warnings that approving the Rosebank oil field, located off Shetland, could contravene the government's recently announced sanctions against illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Environmental campaigners and Green Party leader Zack Polanski have separately written to Andy Burnham and Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, expressing concerns about the project's ties to the Israeli company Delek Group.
Delek Group was included last year in a UN database of firms allegedly supporting settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. The company has stated to the Daily Telegraph that it no longer has involvement in Israeli settlements and was wrongly listed, adding that it intends to challenge its inclusion in the database.
Delek Group controls Ithaca Energy, which holds a 20% stake in Rosebank. Campaign groups, including Stop Rosebank and Greenpeace, with assistance from Uplift, have asked the government to clarify whether Delek will be affected by the new sanctions. Polanski has also questioned what steps the government will take to ensure North Sea oil and gas revenues do not finance illegal settlements.
The decision on Rosebank, which was challenged in courts in 2023, now rests with Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh. The Foreign Office declined to comment on the matter.