Norwegian state-owned Equinor, the UK's biggest gas supplier, made record profits during the energy crisis. Instead of using these profits to invest in renewables, Equinor is doubling down on new oil and gas. They are ignoring the full climate, ecological, and human rights impacts of its activities.
Many in Norway are unaware of Equinor’s global reach, but its projects - from the UK to Brazil - are leaving lasting damage. One of the most controversial projects is Rosebank, the largest undeveloped oil field in the UK. Rosebank won’t boost British energy security or cut bills - yet UK taxpayers will foot most of the cost while the profits go to Equinor and its partner Ithaca Energy. Equinor’s reckless gamble on Rosebank not only threatens the climate, but the company's reputation too.
The International Energy Agency is clear that new oil and gas developments are incompatible with limiting global warming to 1.5°C – a limit that we are already overshooting. Burning Rosebank's reserves would produce more CO2 than the annual emissions of the 28 lowest-income countries in the world combined or 56 coal-fired power stations running for a year. On top of that, the pipeline from Rosebank would cut through a specially protected seabed, potentially harming some of the world’s rarest and oldest marine life such as delicate coral gardens, sea clams, dolphins and whales.
Equinor’s partner on Rosebank is British-based Ithaca Energy, which is majority-owned by the Israeli energy giant, Delek Group. Delek Group operates in Israeli settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory, which are considered illegal under international law. Delek is named in a UN list of businesses whose activities in the West Bank have “raised particular human rights concerns”. Delek also provides fuel to the Israel Defence Forces via its subsidiary, Delek Israel, with military personnel able to refuel at hundreds of petrol stations owned by Delek Israel.
Norway’s largest pension fund - KLP - divested from Delek in 2021 due to its operations in illegal Israeli settlements, with the fund citing an “unacceptable risk of the company contributing to or being responsible for serious breaches of ethical norms”. Norway’s $1.5 trillion sovereign wealth fund also divested from Delek in 2023 for ‘violation of ethical norms’ due to the group’s activities in Western Sahara.
If the field goes ahead, some of Rosebank’s vast oil profits could flow to Delek, a company that operates in illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine. Delek is expected to receive around £253 million in revenue from Rosebank. International human rights organisations have warned that UK ministers must ensure there are no corporate links between a North Sea oil licensee and illegal Israeli settlements.
Now, Equinor is under investigation by the Norwegian Consumer Authority for a potential breach of a transparency law that requires Norwegian companies to ensure their business operations and relationships respect basic human rights and are in line with international guidelines. This investigation follows a legal complaint by Greenpeace Norway, which argued that Equinor has failed to carry out proper due diligence assessments of its partner on the Rosebank field, Ithaca Energy.
Equinor’s decision to pursue fossil fuel projects like Rosebank while cutting renewable energy projects sends a strong signal that the company is not committed to safe climate limits. In February 2025, CEO Anders Opdeal confirmed that Equinor was slashing its renewables investment by HALF from $10 billion to $5 billion while increasing its oil and gas production by 10%. Equinor is slashing renewables despite only 0.6% of the company’s total energy production coming from renewable sources.
In 2023, the UK’s advertising watchdog banned Equinor from repeating green claims that it was a broad energy company. They found that Norway’s state-backed energy company was overstating its environmental credentials, given most of the company’s revenues come from oil and gas.
Rosebank’s oil is overwhelmingly for export and will do nothing to strengthen the UK’s energy security, something the UK government admitted in 2024. Rosebank’s reserves are 90% oil, and the UK exports around 80% of the oil it produces. Equinor has said that Rosebank’s oil would be sold on the open market, most likely in Europe. New UK oil and gas production does not affect the market price and won’t bring down UK energy bills, something publicly admitted by former Conservative government ministers.
Equinor’s Rosebank oil field has generated significant controversy and opposition at home and abroad. Hundreds of thousands of people across the UK, Norway and the world have shown their opposition to Rosebank, with over 100,000 people calling on the Norwegian government to force Equinor to stop the field and 160,000 demanding the UK government stop the project.
Opposition to Rosebank continues to grow and now includes 700 scientists and experts, over 225 organisations, trade union leaders, 400 UK faith leaders, Church of Norway Bishops, doctors, farmers, 40 MEPs and MPs from every major political party in the UK, globally recognised organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund, Oxfam Great Britain, Save The Children, and notable individuals including Aurora, Greta Thunberg, Vanessa Nakate, Christiana Figueres, and Naomi Klein.
The UK public will effectively carry 84% of the cost of developing Rosebank, which means the field’s owners, Equinor and Ithaca, will receive billions of pounds in tax breaks according to their own figures. Meanwhile, Equinor – which made £24 billion in profits in 2024 – and its partner Ithaca would take the profit. Equinor also secured £400 million in tax relief in just two years thanks to a little-known tax break, the Ringfence Expenditure Supplement (RFES), originally created to enable smaller oil companies to explore marginal fields in the North Sea. Equinor is receiving billions in tax breaks while more than 6.5 million households in the UK struggle to heat their homes
The people of Norway can help stop this project, add your name here: https://www.stopcambo.org.uk/p/norway.
