A SUSPENDED Labour MP has called on the UK Government to reject the controversial Rosebank oil field, citing concerns profits from the project could financially benefit a company linked to human rights violations in Palestine.
John McDonnell, who is currently an independent after he was suspended from Labour over voting to remove the two-child cap, has written to Energy Minister Michael Shanks to highlight the role of oil company Ithaca Energy – which has a major stake in Rosebank.
Ithaca is majority-owned by Delek Group, an Israeli fuel conglomerate that operates in illegal West Bank settlements and has been listed by the United Nations for activities “raising particular human rights concerns”.
Delek Group has been dropped from investment portfolios by major institutions, including Norway’s largest pension fund KLP and the country’s $1.5 trillion sovereign wealth fund.
McDonnell warned that approving the development would mean UK oil resources could directly fund a company with documented ties to human rights abuse.
McDonnell said: “Approving plans to develop the Rosebank oil field would be morally indefensible.
“We simply cannot let profits from UK oil resources to flow to a company which is complicit in the oppression and occupation of the Palestinian people. The UK Government must stand against both climate destruction and injustice and reject Rosebank.”
If approved, Rosebank – which would be based north west of Shetland – could generate an estimated £253 million in revenue for Delek Group.
Delek Group is listed on the UN High Commissioner's database of companies conducting commercial activity in occupied Palestinian territory and also provides fuel to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) through its subsidiary, Delek Israel.
The National reported earlier this year that Norwegian state-owned Equinor – which is also behind the Rosebank proposals – is being probed by the Norwegian Consumer Authority over its relationship with Ithaca Energy.
In January, the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled that the companies will need to reapply for environmental consents for the Rosebank project after a judge upheld a legal challenge from environmental campaigners against a decision to grant consent for it.
Greenpeace and Uplift brought the challenge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh over decisions to give approval to the Rosebank and the Jackdaw gas field off Aberdeen.
They argued that the UK Government and North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) had acted unlawfully when granting consent to the projects, as environmental impact assessments did not take into account downstream emissions resulting from the burning of the extracted fuels.
In a judgement, Lord Ericht said the decision to grant consent was unlawful, and ruled the consent should be “reduced” (quashed) and reconsidered.
