UK Oil & Gas wins dispute with climate activist

UK Oil & Gas has won a legal challenge brought by a climate activist in the High Court, pushing its share price up sharply on Tuesday.

A judge dismissed claims that Surrey county council failed to assess the full environmental impact of the Horse Hill oilfield when giving consent for long-term production at the development.

The allegations had been made by Sarah Finch for the Weald Action Group, which campaigns against oil and gas extraction in areas of south-east England.

She said the council needed to take into account the greenhouse gas emissions that arose from the burning of products made using the oil drilled from the Horse Hill field.

When released into the atmosphere, these emissions contribute to climate change. The largest source of these gases from human activity is the burning of fossil fuels.

Justice Holgate dismissed the claim related to the lawfulness of the council’s September 2019 decision regarding the field, in which UK Oil & Gas owns an 86 per cent stake.

“The written judgment rejects the challenge’s three grounds and, therefore, the company’s production planning consent remains in full force,” UK Oil & Gas said in a statement.

The company’s share price was up almost 12 per cent in afternoon trading in London on Tuesday.

The judge highlighted that, if successful, the challenge would have had far reaching implications. It would have meant that all indirect carbon emissions “resulting from the use or consumption of end products emanating from [any] development” would need to be assessed, not just those from an oil project.

Oil and gas companies are under growing pressure to take action against climate change with environmentalists and investors coming after the biggest energy majors in particular — from Royal Dutch Shell to BP.

While these companies have announced net-zero emissions goals and plans to invest in lower carbon technologies, to placate shareholders and the public, smaller companies have been less able or willing to do the same.

Energy sector analysts have questioned to what extent all companies can transition towards cleaner fuels, while pointing to still robust demand for hydrocarbons around the world.

The UK government, like others in Europe, is taking steps to push a greener agenda — aiming to cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote investment into cleaner energies.

For the oil industry, customer emissions that are released when, for example petrol or diesel is burnt to power a car, is a fraught subject.

Climate activists have long argued that these emissions are the responsibility of the company that makes the products, but the energy sector has mostly said it is not up to them to control how customers behave.

Legal challenges against oil companies are proliferating around the world as activism against fossil fuel producers mounts and the public pushes corporations and governments to comply with the Paris climate goals.

Source: FT

Read the latest issue of the OGV Energy magazine HERE.